第18章 ACT IV(2)

Enter VERNON and BASSET

VERNON.Grant me the combat,gracious sovereign.BASSET.And me,my lord,grant me the combat too.YORK.This is my servant:hear him,noble Prince.SOMERSET.And this is mine:sweet Henry,favour him.KING HENRY.Be patient,lords,and give them leave to speak.Say,gentlemen,what makes you thus exclaim,And wherefore crave you combat,or with whom?VERNON.With him,my lord;for he hath done me wrong.BASSET.And I with him;for he hath done me wrong.KING HENRY.What is that wrong whereof you both complain?First let me know,and then I'll answer you.BASSET.Crossing the sea from England into France,This fellow here,with envious carping tongue,Upbraided me about the rose I wear,Saying the sanguine colour of the leaves Did represent my master's blushing cheeks When stubbornly he did repugn the truth About a certain question in the law Argu'd betwixt the Duke of York and him;With other vile and ignominious terms In confutation of which rude reproach And in defence of my lord's worthiness,I crave the benefit of law of arms.VERNON.And that is my petition,noble lord;For though he seem with forged quaint conceit To set a gloss upon his bold intent,Yet know,my lord,I was provok'd by him,And he first took exceptions at this badge,Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart.YORK.Will not this malice,Somerset,be left?SOMERSET.Your private grudge,my Lord of York,will out,Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it.KING HENRY.Good Lord,what madness rules in brainsick men,When for so slight and frivolous a cause Such factious emulations shall arise!Good cousins both,of York and Somerset,Quiet yourselves,I pray,and be at peace.YORK.Let this dissension first be tried by fight,And then your Highness shall command a peace.SOMERSET.The quarrel toucheth none but us alone;Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.YORK.There is my pledge;accept it,Somerset.VERNON.Nay,let it rest where it began at first.BASSET.Confirm it so,mine honourable lord.GLOUCESTER.Confirm it so?Confounded be your strife;And perish ye,with your audacious prate!Presumptuous vassals,are you not asham'd With this immodest clamorous outrage To trouble and disturb the King and us?And you,my lords-methinks you do not well To bear with their perverse objections,Much less to take occasion from their mouths To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves.Let me persuade you take a better course.EXETER.It grieves his Highness.Good my lords,be friends.KING HENRY.Come hither,you that would be combatants:Henceforth I charge you,as you love our favour,Quite to forget this quarrel and the cause.And you,my lords,remember where we are:In France,amongst a fickle wavering nation;If they perceive dissension in our looks And that within ourselves we disagree,How will their grudging stomachs be provok'd To wilful disobedience,and rebel!Beside,what infamy will there arise When foreign princes shall be certified That for a toy,a thing of no regard,King Henry's peers and chief nobility Destroy'd themselves and lost the realm of France!O,think upon the conquest of my father,My tender years;and let us not forgo That for a trifle that was bought with blood!Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife.I see no reason,if I wear this rose,[Putting on a red rose]That any one should therefore be suspicious I more incline to Somerset than York:Both are my kinsmen,and I love them both.As well they may upbraid me with my crown,Because,forsooth,the King of Scots is crown'd.But your discretions better can persuade Than I am able to instruct or teach;And,therefore,as we hither came in peace,So let us still continue peace and love.Cousin of York,we institute your Grace To be our Regent in these parts of France.And,good my Lord of Somerset,unite Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot;And like true subjects,sons of your progenitors,Go cheerfully together and digest Your angry choler on your enemies.Ourself,my Lord Protector,and the rest,After some respite will return to Calais;From thence to England,where I hope ere long To be presented by your victories With Charles,Alencon,and that traitorous rout.Flourish.Exeunt all but YORK,WARWICK,EXETER,VERNON WARWICK.My Lord of York,I promise you,the King Prettily,methought,did play the orator.YORK.And so he did;but yet I like it not,In that he wears the badge of Somerset.WARWICK.Tush,that was but his fancy;blame him not;I dare presume,sweet prince,he thought no harm.YORK.An if I wist he did-but let it rest;Other affairs must now be managed.Exeunt all but EXETER EXETER.Well didst thou,Richard,to suppress thy voice;For had the passions of thy heart burst out,I fear we should have seen decipher'd there More rancorous spite,more furious raging broils,Than yet can be imagin'd or suppos'd.But howsoe'er,no simple man that sees This jarring discord of nobility,This shouldering of each other in the court,This factious bandying of their favourites,But that it doth presage some ill event.'Tis much when sceptres are in children's hands;But more when envy breeds unkind division:There comes the ruin,there begins confusion.Exit