21ENTER King Richard, IOHN 55O
Vld Iohn of Gaunt time honoured Lanca
ster,
66 Ha
st thou according to thy oath and bande
77 Brought hither Henrie Herford thy bolde
sonne,
88 Here to make good the boi
strous late appeale,
99Which then our ley
sure would not let vs heare
1010Again
st the Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Moubray ?
1111Gaunt. I haue my Leige
. 1212King. Tell me moreouer ha
st thou
sounded him,
1313If he appeale the Duke on ancient malice,
1414Or worthily as a good
subie
ct should
1515On
some knowne ground of treacherie in him.
1616Gaunt. As neere as I could
sift him on that argument,
1717On
some apparent daunger
seene in him,
1818Aimde at your highnes, no inueterate malice
. 1919King. Then call them to our pre
sence face to face,
2020And frowning brow to brow our
selues will heare,
2121The accu
ser and the accu
sed freely
speake
: 2222High
stomackt are they both and full of ire,
2323In rage, deafe as the
sea, ha
stie as
fire.
2424Enter Bullingbrooke and Mowbray. 2525Bulling. Manie yeares of happie daies befall,
2626My gratious
soueraigne my mo
st louing liege.
2727Mowb. Each day
still better others happines,
2828Vntill the heauens enuying earths good hap,
2929Adde an immortall title to your Crowne.
3030King. We thanke you both, yet one but
flatters vs,
3131As well appeareth by the cau
se you come,
3232Namely to appeale each other of high trea
son:
3333Coo
sin of Herford, what do
st thou obie
ct 3434Again
st the Duke of Nor
ffolke Thomas Mowbray
? 3535Bull. Fir
st, heauen be the record to my
speech,
3636In the deuotion of a
subie
cts loue,
3737Tendring the pretious
safetie of my Prince,
3838And free from other misbegotten hate,
3939Come I appellant to this princely pre
sence
. 4040Now Thomas Mowbray do I turne to thee,
4141And marke my greeting well: for what I
speake
4242My body
shall make good vpon this earth,
4343Or my diuine
soule an
swer it in heauen:
4444Thou art a traitour and a mi
screant,
4545Too good to be
so, and too bad to liue,
4646Since the more faire and cri
stall is the skie,
4747The vglier
seeme the cloudes that in it
flie
: 4848Once more, the more to aggrauate the note,
4949With a foule traitors name
stu
ffe I thy throte,
5050And wi
sh (
so plea
se my Soueraigne) ere I moue,
5151What my tong
speaks, my right drawen
sword may proue.
5252Mow. Let not my cold wordes here accu
se my zeale,
5353Tis not the triall of a womans warre,
5454The bitter clamour of two eger tongues
5555Can arbitrate this cau
se betwixt vs twaine,
5656The bloud is hote that mu
st be coold for this,
5757Yet can I not of
such tame patience boa
st,
5858As to be hui
sht, and naught at all to
say
. 5959Fir
st the faire reuerence of your Highne
sse curbs me,
6060From giuing reines and
spurres to my free
speech,
6161Which el
se would po
st vntill it had returnd,
6262The
se termes of trea
son doubled downe his throat:
6363Setting a
side his high blouds royaltie,
6464And let him be no kin
sman to my Liege,
6565I do de
fie him, and I
spit at him,
6666Call him a
slaunderous coward, and a villaine,
6767Which to maintaine, I would allow him ods,
6868And meete him were I tied to runne afoote,
6969Euen to the frozen ridges of the Alpes,
7070Or any other ground inhabitable,
7171Where euer Engli
shman dur
st set his foote,
7272Meane time, let this defend my loyaltie,
7373By all my hopes mo
st fal
sly doth he lie.
7474Bull. Pale trembling coward there I throw my gage,
7575Di
sclaiming here the kinred of the King,
7676And lay a
side my high bloudes royaltie,
7777Which Feare, not Reuerence makes thee to except.
7878If guilty dread haue left thee
so much
strength,
7979As to take vp mine honours pawne, then
stowpe,
8080By that, and all the rites of Knighthoode el
se,
8181Will I make good again
st thee arme to arme,
8282What I haue
spoke, or thou can
st wor
se deui
se.
8383Mow. I take it vp, and by that
sword I
sweare,
8484Which gently laid my Knighthood on my
shoulder,
8585Ile an
swer thee in any faire degree,
8686Or chiualrous de
signe of knightly triall:
8787And when I mount, aliue may I not light,
8888If I be traitor or vniu
stly
fight.
8989King. What doth our cou
sin lay to Mowbraies charge?
9090It mu
st be great that can inherit vs,
9191So much as of a thought of ill in him.
9292Bul. Looke what I
speake, my life
shall proue it true,
9393That Mowbray hath receiude eight thou
sand nobles
9494In name of Lendings for your Highnes
souldiours,
9595The which he hath detaind for lewd imployments,
9696Like a fal
se traitour, and iniurious villaine:
9797Be
sides I
say, and will in battle proue,
9898Or here, or el
sewhere to the furthe
st Verge
: 9999That euer was
surueyed by Engli
sh eye,
100100That all the trea
sons for the
se eighteene yeares,
101101Complotted and contriued in this land:
102102Fetch from fal
se Mowbray their
fir
st head and
spring,
103103Further I
say and further will maintaine
104104Vpon his bad life to make all this good,
105105That he did plotte the Duke of Gloce
sters death,
106106Sugge
st his
soone beleeuing aduer
saries,
107107And eon
sequently like a taitour coward,
108108Slucte out his innocent
soule through
streames of bloud,
109109Which bloud, like
sacri
ficing Abels cries,
110110Euen from the toungle
sse Cauernes of the earth,
111111To me for iu
stice and rough cha
sti
sement
: 112112And, by the glorious worth of my de
scent,
113113This arme
shall do it, or this life be
spent.
114114King. How high a pitch his re
solution
soares,
115115Thomas of Norfolke what
sai
st thou to this ?
116116Mowb. Oh let my
soueraigne turne awaie his face,
117117And bid his eares a little while be deafe.
118118Till I haue tolde this
slaunder of his bloud,
119119How God and good men hate
so foule a lier
. 120120King. Mowbray impartiall are our eies and eares,
121121Were he my brother, nay, my kingdomes heire,
122122As he is but my fathers brothers
sonne,
123123Now by
scepters awe I make a vowe,
124124Such neighbour neerenes to our
sacred bloud
125125Should nothing priuiledge him nor partialize
126126The vn
stooping
firmene
sse of my vpright
soule,
127127He is our
subie
ct Mowbray
so art thou,
128128Free
speech and fearele
sse I to thee allowe.
129129Mowb. Then Bullingbrooke as lowe as to thy heart
130130Through the fal
se pa
ssage of thy throate thou lie
st.
131131Three partes of that receipte I had for Callice,
132132Di
sbur
st I duely to his highne
sse
souldiers,
133133The other part re
serude I by con
sent,
134134For that my
soueraigne liege was in my debt
. 135135Vpon remainder of a deare account:
136136Since la
st I went to France to fetch his Queene:
137137Now
swallow downe that lie. For Gloce
sters death,
138138I
slewe him not but to my own di
sgrace,
139139Negle
cted my
sworne duety in that ca
se
: 140140For you my noble Lord of Lanca
ster,
141141The honourable father to my foe,
142142Once did I lay an ambu
she for your life,
143143A tre
spa
sse that doth vex my grieued
soule
: 144144Ah but ere I la
st receiude the Sacrament,
145145I did confe
sse it, and exa
ctly begd
146146Your graces pardon, and I hope I had it.
147147This is my fault, as for the re
st appeald
148148It
i
ssues
from the rancour of a villaine,
149149A recreant and mo
st degenerate traitour,
150150Which in my
selfe I boldly will defende,
151151And enterchangeably hurle downe my gage
152152Vpon this ouerweening traitors foote,
153153To proue my
selfe a loyal Gentleman,
154154Euen in the be
st bloud chamberd in his bo
some,
155155In ha
ste wherof mo
st hartily I pray
156156Your highnes to a
ssigne our triall day.
157157King. Wrath kindled gentleman be ruled by me,
158158Lets purge this choler without letting bloud,
159159This we pre
scribe though no Phi
sition,
160160Deepe malice makes too deepe inci
sion,
161161Forget, forgiue, conclude and be agreed,
162162Our do
ctors
say, this is no month to bleede:
163163Good Vnckle let this ende where it begonne,
164164Weele calme the Duke of Norfolke, you your
sonne.
165165Gaunt. To be a make-peace
shal become my age,
166166Throw downe (my
sonne) the Duke of Norfolkes gage.
167167King. And Norfolke throw downe his.
168168Gaunt. When Harry? when obedience bids,
169169Obedience bids I
should not bid againe
. 170170King. Norfolke throw downe we bid, there is no boote.
172171Mow. My
selfe I throw dread
soueraigne at thy foote,
173172My life thou
shalt command, but not my
shame,
174173The one my duety owes, but my faire name
175174De
spight of death that liues vpon my graue,
176175To darke di
shonours v
se thou
shalt not haue:
177176I am di
sgra
ste, impeacht, and ba
ffuld heere,
178177Pier
st to the
soule with Slaunders venomd
speare,
179178The which no balme can cure but his heart bloud
180179Which breathde this poy
son.
181180King. Rage mu
st be with
stoode,
182181Giue me his gage; Lions make Leopards tame
. 183182Mowb. Yea but not change his
spots : take but my
shame,
184183And I re
signe my gage, my deare deare Lord,
185184The pure
st trea
sure mortall times a
fford,
186185Is
spotle
sse Reputation that away
187186Men are but guilded loame, or painted clay,
188187A iewell in a ten times bard vp che
st,
189188Is a bold
spirit in a loyall brea
st:
190189Mine honour is my life, both grow in one,
191190Take honour from me, and my life is done :
192191Then (deare my Liege) mine honour let me trie,
193192In that I liue, and for that will I die.
194193King. Coo
sin, throw vp your gage, do you beginne.
196194Bull. O God defend my
soule from
such deepe
sinne,
197195Shall I
seeme Cre
st-fallen in my fathers
fight
? 198196Or with pale beggar-feare impeach my height,
199197Before this out-darde Da
stard? ere my tong
200198Shall wound my honour with
such feeble wrong,
201199Or
sound
so ba
se a parlee, my teeth
shall teare
202200The
slaui
sh motiue of recanting feare,
203201And
spit it bleeding in his high di
sgrace,
204202Where Shame doth harbour euen in Mowbraies face.
206203King. We were not borne to
sue, but to commaund,
207204Which
since we cannot do, to make you friends,
208205Be ready as your liues
shall an
swere it,
209206At Couentry vpon
saint Lamberts day,
210207There
shall your
swords and launces
arbitrate
211208The
swelling di
fference of your
setled hate,
212209Since we cannot atone you, we
shall
see
213210Iu
stice de
signe the Vi
ctors chiualrie,
214211Lord Mar
shal, commaund our O
fficers at Armes,
215212Be ready to dire
ct the
se home all
armes
. Exit.