SCENE I.The Abbey at Bury St.Edmunds
Sound a sennet.Enter the KING,the QUEEN,CARDINAL,SUFFOLK,YORK,BUCKINGHAM,SALISBURY,and WARWICK,to the Parliament
KING HENRY.I muse my Lord of Gloucester is not come.'Tis not his wont to be the hindmost man,Whate'er occasion keeps him from us now.QUEEN.Can you not see,or will ye not observe The strangeness of his alter'd countenance?With what a majesty he bears himself;How insolent of late he is become,How proud,how peremptory,and unlike himself?We know the time since he was mild and affable,And if we did but glance a far-off look Immediately he was upon his knee,That all the court admir'd him for submission.But meet him now and be it in the morn,When every one will give the time of day,He knits his brow and shows an angry eye And passeth by with stiff unbowed knee,Disdaining duty that to us belongs.Small curs are not regarded when they grin,But great men tremble when the lion roars,And Humphrey is no little man in England.First note that he is near you in descent,And should you fall he is the next will mount;Me seemeth,then,it is no policy-Respecting what a rancorous mind he bears,And his advantage following your decease-That he should come about your royal person Or be admitted to your Highness'Council.By flattery hath he won the commons'hearts;And when he please to make commotion,'Tis to be fear'd they all will follow him.Now 'tis the spring,and weeds are shallow-rooted;Suffer them now,and they'll o'ergrow the garden And choke the herbs for want of husbandry.The reverent care I bear unto my lord Made me collect these dangers in the Duke.If it be fond,can it a woman's fear;Which fear if better reasons can supplant,I will subscribe,and say I wrong'd the Duke.My Lord of Suffolk,Buckingham,and York,Reprove my allegation if you can,Or else conclude my words effectual.SUFFOLK.Well hath your Highness seen into this duke;And had I first been put to speak my mind,I think I should have told your Grace's tale.The Duchess,by his subornation,Upon my life,began her devilish practices;Or if he were not privy to those faults,Yet by reputing of his high descent-As next the King he was successive heir-And such high vaunts of his nobility,Did instigate the bedlam brainsick Duchess By wicked means to frame our sovereign's fall.Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep,And in his ****** show he harbours treason.The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.No,no,my sovereign,Gloucester is a man Unsounded yet,and full of deep deceit.CARDINAL.Did he not,contrary to form of law,Devise strange deaths for small offences done?YORK.And did he not,in his protectorship,Levy great sums of money through the realm For soldiers'pay in France,and never sent it?By means whereof the towns each day revolted.BUCKINGHAM.Tut,these are petty faults to faults unknown Which time will bring to light in smooth Duke Humphrey.KING HENRY.My lords,at once:the care you have of us,To mow down thorns that would annoy our foot,Is worthy praise;but shall I speak my conscience?Our kinsman Gloucester is as innocent From meaning treason to our royal person As is the sucking lamb or harmless dove:The Duke is virtuous,mild,and too well given To dream on evil or to work my downfall.QUEEN.Ah,what's more dangerous than this fond affiance?Seems he a dove?His feathers are but borrow'd,For he's disposed as the hateful raven.Is he a lamb?His skin is surely lent him,For he's inclin'd as is the ravenous wolf.Who cannot steal a shape that means deceit?Take heed,my lord;the welfare of us all Hangs on the cutting short that fraudful man.
Enter SOMERSET
SOMERSET.All health unto my gracious sovereign!KING HENRY.Welcome,Lord Somerset.What news from France?SOMERSET.That all your interest in those territories Is utterly bereft you;all is lost.KING HENRY.Cold news,Lord Somerset;but God's will be done!YORK.[Aside]Cold news for me;for I had hope of France As firmly as I hope for fertile England.Thus are my blossoms blasted in the bud,And caterpillars eat my leaves away;But I will remedy this gear ere long,Or sell my title for a glorious grave.
Enter GLOUCESTER
GLOUCESTER.All happiness unto my lord the King!Pardon,my liege,that I have stay'd so long.SUFFOLK.Nay,Gloucester,know that thou art come too soon,Unless thou wert more loyal than thou art.I do arrest thee of high treason here.GLOUCESTER.