Enter
[257]Gaveston mourning,
James, and the Earl of
Pembroke's men.
Gav. O treacherous Warwick! thus to wrong thy friend.
James. I see it is your life these arms pursue.
Gav. Weaponless must I fall, and die in bands?
O! must this day be period of my life?
Centre of all my bliss! An ye be men,
Speed to the king.
Enter Warwick and his company.
War. My lord of Pembroke's men,
Strive you no longer—I will have that Gaveston.
James. Your lordship does dishonour to yourself,
And wrong our lord, your honourable friend.
War. No, James, it is my country's cause I follow.10
Go, take the villain; soldiers, come away.
We'll make quick work. Commend me to your master,
My friend, and tell him that I watched it well.
Come, let thy shadow
[258] parley with King Edward.
Gav. Treacherous earl, shall I not see the king?
War. The king of Heaven perhaps, no other king. Away!
[Exeunt Warwick and his Men with
Gaveston.
James. Come, fellows, it booted not for us to strive,
We will in haste go certify our lord.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II.
Enter
[259] King Edward and
Young Spencer, Baldock, and
Nobles of the king's side, with drums and fifes.
Edw. I long to hear an answer from the barons
Touching my friend, my dearest Gaveston.
Ah! Spencer, not the riches of my realm
Can ransom him! ah, he is marked to die!
I know the malice of the younger Mortimer,
Warwick I know is rough, and Lancaster
Inexorable, and I shall never see
My lovely Pierce of Gaveston again!
The barons overbear me with their pride.
Y. Spen. Were I King Edward, England's sovereign,10
Son to the lovely Eleanor of Spain,
Great Edward Longshanks' issue, would I bear
These braves,
[260] this rage, and suffer uncontrolled
These barons thus to beard me in my land,
In mine own realm? My lord, pardon my speech,
Did you retain your father's magnanimity,
Did you regard the honour of your name,
You would not suffer thus your majesty
Be counterbuft of your nobility.
Strike off their heads, and let them preach on poles!20
No doubt, such lessons they will teach the rest,
As by their preachments they will profit much,
And learn obedience to their lawful king.
Edw. Yea, gentle Spencer, we have been too mild,
Too kind to them; but now have drawn our sword,
And if they send me not my Gaveston,
We'll steel it on their crest, and poll their tops.
Bald. This haught
[261] resolve becomes your majesty
Not to be tied to their affection,
As though your highness were a schoolboy still,30
And must be awed and governed like a child.
Enter Hugh Spencer, father to the
Young Spencer, with his truncheon and Soldiers.
O. Spen. Long live my sovereign, the noble Edward—
In peace triumphant, fortunate in wars!
Edw. Welcome, old man, com'st thou in Edward's aid?
Then tell thy
[262] prince of whence, and what thou art.
O. Spen. Lo, with a band of bowmen and of pikes,
Brown bills and targeteers, four hundred strong,
Sworn to defend King Edward's royal right,
I come in person to your majesty,
Spencer, the father of Hugh Spencer there,40
Bound to your highness everlastingly,
For favour done, in him, unto us all.
Edw. Thy father, Spencer?
Y. Spen. True, an it like your grace,
That pours, in lieu of all your goodness shown,
His life, my lord, before your princely feet.
Edw. Welcome ten thousand times, old man, again.
Spencer, this love, this kindness to thy king,
Argues thy noble mind and disposition.
Spencer, I here create thee Earl of Wiltshire,
And daily will enrich thee with our favour,50
That, as the sunshine, shall reflect o'er thee.
Beside, the more to manifest our love,
Because we hear Lord Bruce doth sell his land,
And that the Mortimers are in hand withal,
Thou shalt have crowns of us t'outbid the barons
And, Spencer, spare them not, lay it on.
Soldiers, a largess, and thrice welcome all!
Y. Spen. My lord, here comes
[263] the queen.
Enter the Queen and her Son, and
Levune, a Frenchman.
Edw. Madam, what news?
Queen. News of dishonour, lord, and discontent.
Our friend Levune, faithful and full of trust,60
Informeth us, by letters and by words,
That Lord Valois our brother, King of France,
Because your highness hath been slack in homage,
Hath seizèd Normandy into his hands.
These be the letters, this the messenger.
Edw. Welcome, Levune. Tush, Sib, if this be all,
Valois and I will soon be friends again.—
But to my Gaveston; shall I never see,
Never behold thee now?
[264]—Madam, in this matter,
We will employ you and your little son;70
You shall go parley with the King of France.
Boy, see you bear you bravely to the king.
And do your message with a majesty.
Prince. Commit not to my youth things of more weight
Than fits a prince so young as I to bear,
And fear not, lord and father, heaven's great beams
On Atlas' shoulder shall not lie more safe,
Than shall your charge committed to my trust.
Queen. Ah, boy! this towardness makes thy mother fear
Thou art not marked to many days on earth.80
Edw. Madam, we will that you with speed be shipped,
And this our son; Levune shall follow you
With all the haste we can despatch him hence.
Chuse of our lords to bear you company;
And go in peace, leave us in wars at home.
Queen. Unnatural wars, where subjects brave their king;
God end them once! My lord, I take my leave,
To make my preparation for France. [Exit with Prince.
Enter Arundel.
Edw. What, Lord Arundel, dost thou come alone?
Arun. Yea, my good lord, for Gaveston is dead.90
Edw. Ah, traitors! have they put my friend to death?
Tell me, Arundel, died he ere thou cam'st,
Or didst thou see my friend to take his death?
Arun. Neither, my lord; for as he was surprised,
Begirt with weapons and with enemies round,
I did your highness' message to them all;
Demanding him of them, entreating rather,
And said, upon the honour of my name,
That I would undertake to carry him
Unto your highness, and to bring him back.100
Edw. And tell me, would the rebels deny me that?
Y. Spen. Proud recreants!
Edw. Yea, Spencer, traitors all.
Arun. I found them at the first inexorable;
The Earl of Warwick would not bide the hearing,
Mortimer hardly, Pembroke and Lancaster
Spake least: and when they flatly had denied,
Refusing to receive my pledge for him,
The Earl of Pembroke mildly thus bespake;
"My lord, because our sovereign sends for him,
And promiseth he shall be safe returned,110
I will this undertake, to have him hence,
And see him re-delivered to your hands."
Edw. Well, and how fortunes [it] that he came not?
Y. Spen. Some treason, or some villany, was the cause.
Arun. The Earl of Warwick seized him on his way;
For being delivered unto Pembroke's men,
Their lord rode home thinking his prisoner safe;
But ere he came, Warwick in ambush lay,
And bare him to his death; and in a trench
Strake off his head, and marched unto the camp.120
Y. Spen. A bloody part, flatly 'gainst law of arms.
Edw. O shall I speak, or shall I sigh and die!
Y. Spen. My lord, refer your vengeance to the sword
Upon these barons; hearten up your men;
Let them not unrevenged murder your friends!
Advance your standard, Edward, in the field,
And march to fire them from their starting holes. [Edward kneels.
Edw. By earth, the common mother of us all,
By heaven, and all the moving orbs thereof,
By this right hand, and by my father's sword,130
And all the honours 'longing to my crown,
I will have heads, and lives for him, as many
As I have manors, castles, towns, and towers! [Rises.
Treacherous Warwick! traitorous Mortimer!
If I be England's king, in lakes of gore
Your headless trunks, your bodies will I trail,
That you may drink your fill, and quaff in blood,
And stain my royal standard with the same,
That so my bloody colours may suggest
Remembrance of revenge immortally140
On your accursèd traitorous progeny,
You villains, that have slain my Gaveston!
And in his place of honour and of trust,
Spencer, sweet Spencer, I adopt thee here:
And merely of our love we do create thee
Earl of Gloucester, and Lord Chamberlain,
Despite of times, despite of enemies.
Y. Spen. My Lord, here is
[265] a messenger from the barons
Desires access unto your majesty.
Edw. Admit him near.150
Enter the Herald from the Barons, with his coat of arms.
Her. Long live King Edward, England's lawful lord!
Edw. So wish not they, I wis, that sent thee hither.
Thou com'st from Mortimer and his complices,
A ranker rout
[266] of rebels never was.
Well, say thy message.
Her. The barons up in arms, by me salute
Your highness with long life and happiness;
And bid me say, as plainer to your grace,
That if without effusion of blood
You will this grief have ease and remedy,160
That from your princely person you remove
This Spencer, as a putrefying branch,
That deads the royal vine, whose golden leaves
[267]
Empale your princely head, your diadem,
Whose brightness such pernicious upstarts dim,
Say they; and lovingly advise your grace,
To cherish virtue and nobility,
And have old servitors in high esteem,
And shake off smooth dissembling flatterers:
This granted, they, their honours, and their lives,170
Are to your highness vowed and consecrate.
Y. Spen. Ah, traitors! will they still display their pride?
Edw. Away, tarry no answer, but be gone!
Rebels, will they appoint their sovereign
His sports, his pleasures, and his company?
Yet, ere thou go, see how I do divorce [Embraces Spencer.
Spencer from me.—Now get thee to thy lords,
And tell them I will come to chastise them
For murdering Gaveston; hie thee, get thee gone!
Edward with fire and sword follows at thy heels.180
My lord[s], perceive you how these rebels swell?
Soldiers, good hearts, defend your sovereign's right,
For now, even now, we march to make them stoop.
Away!
[Exeunt. Alarums, excursions, a great fight, and a retreat.
SCENE III.
Enter the King, Old Spencer,
Young Spencer, and the Noblemen
of the King's side.
Edw. Why do we sound retreat? upon them, lords!
This day I shall pour vengeance with my sword
On those proud rebels that are up in arms,
And do confront and countermand their king.
Y. Spen. I doubt it not, my lord, right will prevail.
O. Spen. 'Tis not amiss, my liege, for either part
To breathe awhile; our men, with sweat and dust
All choked well near, begin to faint for heat;
And this retire refresheth horse and man.
Y. Spen. Here come the rebels.10
Enter Young Mortimer, Lancaster,
Warwick, Pembroke, &c.
E. Mor. Look, Lancaster, yonder is Edward
Among his flatterers.
Lan. And there let him be
Till he pay dearly for their company.
War. And shall, or Warwick's sword shall smite in vain.
Edw. What, rebels, do you shrink and sound retreat?
Y. Mor. No, Edward, no, thy flatterers faint and fly.
Lan. They'd best betimes forsake thee, and their trains,
[268]
For they'll betray thee, traitors as they are.
Y. Spen. Traitor on thy face, rebellious Lancaster!
Pem. Away, base upstart, bravest thou nobles thus?20
O. Spen. A noble attempt, and honourable deed,
Is
[269] it not, trow ye, to assemble aid,
And levy arms against your lawful king!
Edw. For which ere long their heads shall satisfy,
To appease the wrath of their offended king.
Y. Mor. Then, Edward, thou wilt fight it to the last,
And rather bathe thy sword in subjects' blood,
Than banish that pernicious company?
Edw. I, traitors all, rather than thus be braved,
Make England's civil towns huge heaps of stones,30
And ploughs to go about our palace-gates.
War. A desperate and unnatural resolution!
Alarum!—to the fight!
St. George for England, and the barons' right.
Edw. St. George for England, and King Edward's right.
[Alarums. Exeunt.
Re-enter Edward and his followers, with the
Barons and Kent, captives.
Edw. Now, lusty lords, now, not by chance of war,
But justice of the quarrel and the cause,
Vailed is your pride; methinks you hang the heads,
But we'll advance them, traitors; now 'tis time
To be avenged on you for all your braves,40
And for the murder of my dearest friend,
To whom right well you knew our soul was knit,
Good Pierce of Gaveston, my sweet favourite:
Ah, rebels! recreants! you made him away.
Kent. Brother, in regard of thee, and of thy land,
Did they remove that flatterer from thy throne.
Edw. So, sir, you have spoke; away, avoid our presence.
[Exit Kent.
Accursèd wretches, was't in regard of us,
When we had sent our messenger to request
He might be spared to come to speak with us,50
And Pembroke undertook for his return,
That thou, proud Warwick, watched the prisoner,
Poor Pierce, and headed him 'gainst law of arms;
For which thy head shall overlook the rest,
As much as thou in rage outwent'st the rest.
War. Tyrant, I scorn thy threats and menaces,
It is but temporal that thou canst inflict.
Lan. The worst is death, and better die to live
Than live in infamy under such a king.
Edw. Away with them, my lord of Winchester!60
These lusty leaders, Warwick and Lancaster,
I charge you roundly—off with both their heads!
Away!
War. Farewell, vain world!
Lan. Sweet Mortimer, farewell.
Y. Mor. England, unkind to thy nobility,
Groan for this grief, behold how thou art maimed!
Edw. Go, take that haughty Mortimer to the Tower,
There see him safe bestowed; and for the rest,
Do speedy execution on them all.
Begone!70
Y. Mor. What, Mortimer! can ragged stony walls
Immure thy virtue that aspires to heaven?
No, Edward, England's scourge, it may not be,
Mortimer's hope surmounts his fortune far. [The captive Barons are led off.
Edw.. Sound drums and trumpets! March with me, my friends,
Edward this day hath crowned him king anew.
[Exeunt all except Young Spencer,
Levune, and Baldock.
Y. Spen. Levune, the trust that we repose in thee,
Begets the quiet of King Edward's land.
Therefore begone in haste, and with advice
Bestow that pleasure on the lords of France,80
That, therewith all enchanted, like the guard
That suffered Jove to pass in showers of gold
To Danae, all aid may be denied
To Isabel, the queen, that now in France
Makes friends, to cross the seas with her young son,
And step into his father's regiment.
[270]
Levune. That's it these barons and the subtle queen
Long levelled
[271] at.
Bal. Yea, but, Levune, thou seest
These barons lay their heads on blocks together;
What they intend, the hangman frustrates clean.90
Levune. Have you no doubt, my lords, I'll clap
[272] so close
Among the lords of France with England's gold,
That Isabel shall make her plaints in vain,
And France shall be obdurate with her tears.
Y. Spen. Then make for France, amain—Levune, away!
Proclaim King Edward's wars and victories.
[Exeunt omnes.
ACT THE FOURTH.
SCENE I.
Kent. Fair blows the wind for France; blow gentle gale,
Till Edmund be arrived for England's good!
Nature, yield to my country's cause in this.
A brother? no, a butcher of thy friends!
Proud Edward, dost thou banish me thy presence?
But I'll to France, and cheer the wrongèd queen,
And certify what Edward's looseness is.
Unnatural king! to slaughter noblemen
And cherish flatterers! Mortimer, I stay
Thy sweet escape; stand gracious, gloomy night,10
To his device.
Enter Young Mortimer, disguised.
Y. Mor. Holla! who walketh there?
Is't you, my lord?
Kent. Mortimer, 'tis I;
But hath thy portion wrought so happily?
Y. Mor. It hath, my lord; the warders all asleep,
I thank them, gave me leave to pass in peace.
But hath your grace got shipping unto France?
Kent. Fear it not.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II.
Enter
[274] the Queen and her Son.
Queen. Ah, boy! our friends do fail us all in France:
The lords are cruel, and the king unkind;
What shall we do?
[275]
Prince. Madam, return to England,
And please my father well, and then a fig
For all my uncle's friendship here in France.
I warrant you, I'll win his highness quickly;
He loves me better than a thousand Spencers.
Queen. Ah, boy, thou art deceived, at least in this,
To think that we can yet be tuned together;
No, no, we jar too far. Unkind Valois!10
Unhappy Isabel! when France rejects,
Whither, oh! whither dost thou bend thy steps?
Enter Sir John of Hainault.
Sir J. Madam, what cheer?
Queen. Ah! good Sir John of Hainault,
Never so cheerless, nor so far distrest.
Sir J. I hear, sweet lady, of the king's unkindness;
But droop not, madam; noble minds contemn
Despair: will your grace with me to Hainault,
And there stay time's advantage with your son?
How say you, my lord, will you go with your friends,
And shake off all our fortunes equally?20
Prince. So pleaseth
[276] the queen, my mother, me it likes:
The king of England, nor the court of France,
Shall have me from my gracious mother's side,
Till I be strong enough to break a staff;
And then have at the proudest Spencer's head.
Sir J. Well said, my lord.
Queen. O, my sweet heart, how do I moan thy wrongs,
Yet triumph in the hope of thee, my joy!
Ah, sweet Sir John! even to the utmost verge
Of Europe, or
[277] the shore of Tanais,30
We will with thee to Hainault—so we will:—
The marquis is a noble gentleman;
His grace, I dare presume, will welcome me.
But who are these?
Enter Kent and Young Mortimer.
Kent. Madam, long may you live,
Much happier than your friends in England do!
Queen. Lord Edmund and Lord Mortimer alive!
Welcome to France! the news was here, my lord,
That you were dead, or very near your death.
Y. Mor. Lady, the last was truest of the twain:
But Mortimer, reserved for better hap,40
Hath shaken off the thraldom of the Tower,
And lives t' advance your standard, good my lord.
Prince. How mean you? and the king, my father, lives!
No, my Lord Mortimer, not I, I trow.
Queen. Not, son; why not? I would it were no worse.
But, gentle lords, friendless we are in France.
Y. Mor. Monsieur le Grand, a noble friend of yours,
Told us, at our arrival, all the news;
How hard the nobles, how unkind the king
Hath showed himself; but, madam, right makes room50
Where weapons want; and, though so many friends
Are made away, as Warwick, Lancaster,
And others of our party
[278] and faction;
Yet have we friends, assure your grace, in England
Would cast up caps, and clap their hands for joy,
To see us there, appointed
[279] for our foes.
Kent. Would all were well, and Edward well reclaimed,
For England's honour, peace, and quietness.
Y. Mor. But by the sword, my lord, 't must be deserved;
[280]
The king will ne'er forsake his flatterers.60
Sir J. My lords of England, sith th' ungentle king
Of France refuseth to give aid of arms
To this distressèd queen his sister here,
Go you with her to Hainault; doubt ye not,
We will find comfort, money, men and friends
Ere long, to bid the English king a base.
[281]
How say, young prince? what think you of the match?
Prince. I think King Edward will outrun us all.
Queen. Nay, son, not so; and you must not discourage
Your friends, that are so forward in your aid.70
Kent. Sir John of Hainault, pardon us, I pray;
These comforts that you give our woful queen
Bind us in kindness all at your command.
Queen. Yea, gentle brother; and the God of heaven
Prosper your happy motion, good Sir John.
Y. Mor. This noble gentleman, forward in arms,
Was born, I see, to be our anchor-hold.
Sir John of Hainault, be it thy renown,
That England's queen, and nobles in distress,
Have been by thee restored and comforted.80
Sir. J. Madam, along, and you my lord[s], with me,
That England's peers may Hainault's welcome see.
[Exeunt.
SCENE III.
Enter
[282] the King,
Arundel,[283]
the two Spencers, with others.
Edw. Thus after many threats of wrathful war,
Triumpheth England's Edward with his friends;
And triumph, Edward, with his friends uncontrolled!
My lord of Gloucester, do you hear the news?
Y. Spen. What news, my lord?
Edw. Why, man, they say there is great execution
Done through the realm; my lord of Arundel,
You have the note, have you not?
Arun.
[284] From the lieutenant of the Tower, my lord.
Edw. I pray let us see it. What have we there?10
Read it, Spencer. [Spencer reads their names.
Why so; they barked apace a month[285] ago:
Now, on my life, they'll neither bark nor bite.
Now, sirs, the news from France? Gloucester, I trow,
The lords of France love England's gold so well,
As Isabella
[286] gets no aid from thence.
What now remains; have you proclaimed, my lord,
Reward for them can bring in Mortimer?
Y. Spen. My lord, we have; and if he be in England,
'A will be had ere long, I doubt it not.20
Edw. If, dost thou say? Spencer, as true as death,
He is in England's ground; our portmasters
Are not so careless of their king's command.
Enter a Messenger.
How now, what news with thee? from whence come these?
Mes. Letters, my lord, and tidings forth of France,
To you, my lord of Gloucester, from Levune.
Edw. Read.
[Spencer reads the letter.]
"My duty to your honour premised, &c., I have, according to
instructions in that behalf, dealt with the King of France his lords,
and effected, that the queen, all discontented and discomforted, is
gone. Whither, if you ask, with Sir John of Hainault, brother to the
marquis, into Flanders: with them are gone Lord Edmund, and the
Lord Mortimer, having in their company divers of your nation, and
others; and, as constant report goeth, they intend to give King Edward
battle in England, sooner than he can look for them: this is
all the news of import.
Your honour's in all service, Levune."
Edw. Ah, villains! hath that Mortimer escaped?
With him is Edmund gone associate?
And will Sir John of Hainault lead the round?
Welcome, a God's name, madam, and your son;40
England shall welcome you and all your rout.
Gallop apace
[287] bright Phœbus, through the sky,
And dusky night, in rusty iron car,
Between you both shorten the time, I pray,
That I may see that most desirèd day,
When we may meet those traitors in the field.
Ah, nothing grieves me, but my little boy
Is thus misled to countenance their ills.
Come, friends, to Bristow, there to make us strong;
And, winds, as equal be to bring them in,50
As you injurious were to bear them forth!
[Exeunt.
SCENE IV.
Enter
[288] the Queen,
her Son, Kent, Mortimer, and
Sir John Hainault.
Queen. Now, lords, our loving friends and countrymen,
Welcome to England all, with prosperous winds;
Our kindest friends in Belgia have we left,
To cope with friends at home; a heavy case
When force to force is knit, and sword and glaive
In civil broils make kin and countrymen
Slaughter themselves in others, and their sides
With their own weapons gored! But what's the help?
Misgoverned kings are cause of all this wreck;
And, Edward, thou art one among them all,10
Whose looseness hath betrayed thy land to spoil,
Who made the channel
[289] overflow with blood
Of thine own people; patron shouldst thou be,
But thou——
Y. Mor. Nay, madam, if you be a warrior,
You must not grow so passionate in speeches.
Lords,
Sith that we are by sufferance of heaven
Arrived, and armèd in this prince's right,
Here for our country's cause swear we to him20
All homage, fealty, and forwardness;
And for the open wrongs and injuries
Edward hath done to us, his queen and land,
We come in arms to wreak it with the sword;
That England's queen in peace may repossess
Her dignities and honours: and withal
We may remove these flatterers from the king,
That havoc England's wealth and treasury.
Sir. J. Sound trumpets, my lord, and forward let us march.
Edward will think we come to flatter him.30
Kent. I would he never had been flattered more!
[Exeunt.
SCENE V.