Against30 a change; woe is forerun with woe.
Queen and Ladies stand aside
GARDENER Go bind thou up yond dangling apricocks31,
Which, like unruly children, make their sire32
Stoop with oppression33 of their prodigal weight.
Give some supportance34 to the bending twigs.
Go thou, and like an executioner,
Cut off the heads of too fast-growing sprays36,
That look too lofty37 in our commonwealth:
All must be even38 in our government.
You thus employed, I will go root away
The noisome40 weeds, that without profit suck
The soil's fertility from wholesome41 flowers.
SERVANT Why should we in the compass42 of a pale
Keep law and form and due proportion,
Showing, as in a model44, our firm estate,
When our sea-walled garden, the whole land,
Is full of weeds, her fairest flowers choked up,
Her fruit-trees all unpruned, her hedges ruined,
Her knots48 disordered and her wholesome herbs
Swarming with caterpillars?
GARDENER Hold thy peace.
He that hath suffered51 this disordered spring
Hath now himself met with the fall of leaf52.
The weeds that his broad-spreading leaves did shelter,
That seemed in eating him to hold him up,
Are pulled up root and all by Bullingbrook --
I mean the Earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, Green.
SERVANT What, are they dead?
GARDENER They are. And Bullingbrook
Hath seized59 the wasteful king. O, what pity is it
That he had not so trimmed60 and dressed his land
As we this garden: we at time of year61
Do wound the bark, the skin of our fruit-trees,
Lest, being over-proud63 with sap and blood,
With too much riches it confound64 itself.
Had he done so to great and growing men,
They might have lived to bear and he to taste
Their fruits of duty. Superfluous branches
We lop away, that bearing68 boughs may live.
Had he done so, himself had borne the crown69,
Which waste and idle hours hath quite thrown down.
SERVANT What, think you the king shall be deposed?
GARDENER Depressed72 he is already, and deposed
'Tis doubted73 he will be. Letters came last night
To a dear friend of the Duke of York's,
That tell black tidings.
QUEEN O, I am pressed to death76 through want of speaking!
Comes forward
Thou, old Adam77's likeness, set to dress this garden,
How dares thy harsh rude tongue sound this unpleasing news?
What Eve, what serpent, hath suggested79 thee
To make a second fall of cursed man?
Why dost thou say King Richard is deposed?
Dar'st thou, thou little better thing than earth,
Divine83 his downfall? Say, where, when, and how,
Cam'st thou by this ill tidings? Speak, thou wretch.
GARDENER Pardon me, madam. Little joy have I
To breathe these news; yet what I say is true.
King Richard, he is in the mighty hold87
Of Bullingbrook. Their fortunes both are weighed:
In your lord's scale is nothing but himself,
And some few vanities90 that make him light.
But in the balance of great Bullingbrook,
Besides himself, are all the English peers,
And with that odds93 he weighs King Richard down.
Post94 you to London, and you'll find it so,
I speak no more than everyone doth know.
QUEEN Nimble mischance, that art so light of foot,
Doth not thy embassage97 belong to me,
And am I last that knows it? O, thou think'st
To serve me last, that I may longest keep
Thy sorrow in my breast. Come, ladies, go
To meet at London London's king in woe.
What, was I born to this, that my sad look
Should grace the triumph103 of great Bullingbrook?
Gard'ner, for telling me this news of woe,
I would the plants thou graft'st may never grow.
Exeunt
[Queen and Ladies]
GARDENER Poor queen, so106 that thy state might be no worse,
I would my skill were subject to thy curse.
Here did she drop a tear. Here in this place
I'll set a bank of rue109, sour herb of grace.
Rue, e'en for ruth110, here shortly shall be seen,
In the remembrance of a weeping queen.
Exeunt
Act 4 Scene 1
running scene 13
Location: Westminster Hall, London
Enter, as to the Parliament, Bullingbrook, Aumerle, Northumberland, Percy, Fitzwaters, Surrey, Carlisle, Abbot of Westminister, Herald, Officers and Bagot
BULLINGBROOK Call forth Bagot.--
Bagot is brought forward
Now, Bagot, freely speak thy mind,
What thou dost know of noble Gloucester's death,
Who wrought4 it with the king, and who performed
The bloody office5 of his timeless end.
BAGOT Then set before my face the lord Aumerle.
BULLINGBROOK Cousin, stand forth, and look upon that man.
To Aumerle
BAGOT My lord Aumerle, I know your daring tongue
Scorns to unsay9 what it hath once delivered.
In that dead10 time when Gloucester's death was plotted,
I heard you say, 'Is not my arm of length11,
That reacheth from the restful English court
As far as Calais, to my uncle's head?'
Amongst much other talk, that very time,
I heard you say that you had rather refuse
The offer of an hundred thousand crowns16
Than17 Bullingbrook's return to England;
Adding withal18 how blest this land would be
In this your cousin's death.
AUMERLE Princes and noble lords,
What answer shall I make to this base21 man?
Shall I so much dishonour my fair stars22,
On equal terms to give him chastisement?23
Either I must, or have mine honour soiled
With th'attainder25 of his sland'rous lips.--
Throws down his gage
There is my gage, the manual seal of death26
That marks thee out for hell. I say thou liest,
And will maintain what thou hast said is false
In thy heart-blood, though being all too base
To stain the temper30 of my knightly sword.
BULLINGBROOK Bagot, forbear31. Thou shalt not take it up.
AUMERLE Excepting one32, I would he were the best
In all this presence that hath moved33 me so.
FITZWATERS If that thy valour stand34 on sympathy,
To Aumerle
There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage35 to thine.
Throws down his gage
By that fair sun that shows me where thou stand'st,
I heard thee say, and vauntingly37 thou spak'st it,
That thou wert cause of noble Gloucester's death.
If thou deniest39 it twenty times, thou liest,
And I will turn40 thy falsehood to thy heart,
Where it was forged, with my rapier's point.
AUMERLE Thou dar'st not, coward, live to see the day.
FITZWATERS Now by my soul, I would it were this hour.
AUMERLE Fitzwaters, thou art damned to hell for this.
PERCY Aumerle, thou liest: his honour is as true
In this appeal46 as thou art all unjust.
And that thou art so, there I throw my gage,
To prove it on thee t
o th'extremest point
Of mortal breathing48. Seize it, if thou dar'st.
Throws down his gage
AUMERLE An if50 I do not, may my hands rot off
Picks up the gage
And never brandish more51 revengeful steel
Over the glittering helmet of my foe!
SURREY My lord Fitzwaters, I do remember well
The very time Aumerle and you did talk.
FITZWATERS My lord, 'tis very true. You were in presence55 then
And you can witness with me this is true.
SURREY As false, by heaven, as heaven itself is true.
FITZWATERS Surrey, thou liest.
SURREY Dishonourable boy!
That lie shall lie so heavy on my sword
That it shall render61 vengeance and revenge
Till thou the lie-giver and that lie do lie
In earth as quiet as thy father's skull,
In proof whereof, there is mine honour's pawn.
Throws down his gage
Engage it to the trial65, if thou dar'st.
FITZWATERS How fondly66 dost thou spur a forward horse!
If I dare eat, or drink, or breathe, or live,
I dare meet Surrey in a wilderness68,
And spit upon him, whilst I say he lies,
And lies, and lies. There is my bond of faith,
Throws down his gage
To tie71 thee to my strong correction.
As I intend to thrive in this new world,
Aumerle is guilty of my true appeal.
Besides, I heard the banished Norfolk say
That thou, Aumerle, didst send two of thy men
To execute the noble duke at Calais.
AUMERLE Some honest Christian trust me with a gage.
Borrows a gage, then throws it down
That78 Norfolk lies, here do I throw down this,
If he may be repealed79, to try his honour.
BULLINGBROOK These differences80 shall all rest under gage
Till Norfolk be repealed. Repealed he shall be,
And, though mine enemy, restored again
To all his lands and signories83. When he's returned,
Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial84.
CARLISLE That honourable day shall ne'er be seen.
Many a time hath banished Norfolk fought
For Jesu Christ in glorious Christian field87,
Streaming the ensign88 of the Christian cross
Against black pagans, Turks and Saracens,
And toiled90 with works of war, retired 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 colours94 he had fought so long.
BULLINGBROOK Why, bishop, is Norfolk dead?
CARLISLE As sure as I live, my lord.
BULLINGBROOK Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom
Of good old Abraham97! Lords appellants98,
Your differences shall all rest under gage
Till we assign you to your days of trial.
Enter York
YORK Great Duke of Lancaster, I come to thee
From plume-plucked102 Richard, who with willing soul
Adopts thee heir, and his high sceptre yields
To the possession of thy royal hand.
Ascend his throne, descending105 now from him,
And long live Henry, of that name the fourth!
BULLINGBROOK In God's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.
CARLISLE Marry108, heaven forbid!
Worst109 in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming110 me to speak the truth.
Would God that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge
Of noble Richard! Then true noblesse113 would
Learn114 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 judged but they are by117 to hear,
Although apparent118 guilt be seen in them.
And shall the figure119 of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputy-elect,
Anointed, crowned, planted many years,
Be judged by subject122 and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? O, forbid it, God,
That in a Christian climate souls refined
Should show so heinous125, black, obscene a deed.
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stirred up by heaven, 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 manure131 the ground,
And future ages groan for his foul act.
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin and kind135 with kind confound.
Disorder, horror, fear and mutiny
Shall here inhabit, and this land be called
The field138 of Golgotha and dead men's skulls.
O, if you rear this house139 against this house,
It will the woefullest division prove
That ever fell upon this cursed earth.
Prevent it, resist it, and 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' suit148?
BULLINGBROOK Fetch hither Richard, that in common view
He may surrender150, so we shall proceed
Without suspicion.
YORK I will be his conduct152.
Exit
BULLINGBROOK Lords, you that here are under our arrest,
Procure your sureties154 for your days of answer.
Little are we beholding155 to your love,
And little looked for156 at your helping hands.
Enter Richard and York [with 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 reigned? I hardly yet have learned
To insinuate160, flatter, bow, and bend my knee.
Give sorrow leave awhile to tutor me
To this submission. Yet I well remember
The favours163 of these men: were they not mine?
Did they not sometime164 cry, 'All hail!' to me?
So Judas did to Christ, but he in twelve165
Found truth in all but one; I, in twelve thousand, none.
God save the king! Will no man say 'Amen'?
Am I both priest and clerk168? Well then, amen.
God save the king, although I be not he.
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.
To do what service171 am I sent for hither?
YORK To do that office of thine own good will
Which tired majesty173 did make thee offer:
The resignation of thy state and crown
To Henry Bullingbrook.
KING RICHARD Give me the crown.-- Here, cousin, seize176 the crown:
Takes the crown and offers it to Bullingbrook
Here cousin, on this side my hand, on that side thine.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes179 two buckets, filling one another,
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mou
nt up on high.
BULLINGBROOK 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.
BULLINGBROOK Part of your cares you give me with your crown.
KING RICHARD Your cares set up do not pluck my cares down189.
My care is loss of care, by old care done190:
Your care is gain of care, by new care won.
The cares I give I have, though given away,
They tend193 the crown, yet still with me they stay.
BULLINGBROOK Are you contented to resign the crown?
KING RICHARD Ay195, no; no, ay, for I must nothing be:
Therefore no 'no', for I resign to thee.
Now mark me197 how I will undo myself:
I give this heavy weight from off my head,
Bullingbrook accepts crown
And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,
Bullingbrook accepts sceptre
The pride of kingly sway200 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 oaths204.
All pomp and majesty I do forswear205:
My manors, rents, revenues I forgo:
My acts, decrees, and statutes I deny.
God pardon all oaths that are broke to me,
God keep all vows unbroke are made to thee.
Make me, that nothing have, with nothing grieved210,
And thou with all pleased, that hast all achieved.
Long mayst thou live in Richard's seat to sit,
And soon lie Richard in an earthy pit!
'God save King Henry', unkinged Richard says,
'And send him many years of sunshine days!' --
What more remains?
NORTHUMBERLAND No more, but that you read
Gives a paper
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 deposed.
KING RICHARD Must I do so? And must I ravel out223
My weaved-up follies? Gentle224 Northumberland,
If thy offences were upon record,
Would it not shame thee in so fair a troop226
To read a lecture227 of them? If thou wouldst,
There shouldst thou find one heinous article228,
Containing the deposing of a king
And cracking the strong warrant230 of an oath,
Marked with a blot, damned in the book of heaven.
Nay, all of you that stand and look upon me,
Whilst that my wretchedness doth bait233 myself,
Though some of you with Pilate234 wash your hands
Showing an outward pity, yet you Pilates
Have here delivered me to my sour236 cross,
And water cannot wash away your sin.
NORTHUMBERLAND My lord, dispatch238. 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 sort241 of traitors here.
Nay, if I turn mine eyes upon myself,
I find myself a traitor with the rest,
Richard II (Folger Shakespeare Library) Page 9
