That once was mistress of the field, and flou-| Once every hour.
I'll hang my head, and perish.
Wol.
[rish'd, Nor.
Believe it, this is true.
If your grace In the divorce, his contrary proceedings
Could but be brought to know, our ends are Are all unfolded; wherein he appears,
honest,
As I could wish mine enemy.
Sur.
How came
Most strangely.
[lady,
You'd feel more comfort: why should we, good
Upon what cause, wrong you? alas! our places,
The way of our profession is against it;
We are to cure such sorrows, not to sow them.
For goodness' sake, consider what you do;
How you may hurt yourself, ay, utterly
Grow from the king's acquaintance, by this
The hearts of princes kiss obedience, [carriage.
So much they love it; but to stubborn spirits,
They swell, and grow as terrible as storms,
I know, you have a gentle, noble temper,
A soul, as even as a calm; Pray, think us'
Those we profess, peace-makers, friends, and
servants.
[your virtues
Cam. Madam, you'll find it so.
You wrong
With these weak women's fears. A noble spirit,
As yours was put into you, ever casts
Such doubts, as false coin, from it. The king
loves you;
Beware, you lose it not: For us, if you please
To trust us in your business, we are ready
To use our utmost studies in your service.
Q. Kath. Do what you will, my lords; And
pray, forgive me,
If I have us'd myself unmannerly;
You know, I am a woman, lacking wit
To make a seemly answer to such persons.
Pray, do my service to his majesty:
He has my heart yet; and shall have my prayers,
While I shall have my life. Come, reverend
fathers,
Bestow your counsels on me: she now begs,
That little thought, when she set footing here,
She should have bought her dignities so dear.
[Exeunt.
Antechamber to the King's Apartment.
Enter the DUKE OF NORFOLK, the DUKE OF SUr-
FOLK, the EARL OF SURREY, and the Lord Cham-
berlain.
Nor. If you will now unite in your complaints,
And force them with a constancy, the cardinal
Cannot stand under them: If you omit,
The offer of this time, I cannot promise,
But that you shall sustain more new disgraces,
With these you bear already.
I am joyful
To meet the least occasion, that may give me
Remembrance of my father-in-law, the duke,
To be reveng'd on him.
Suff.
Which of the peers
Have uncontemn'd gone by him, or at least
Strangely neglected? when did he regard
The stamp of nobleness in any person,
Out of himself?
Cham. My lords, you speak your pleasures:
What he deserves of you and me, I know;
What we can do to him (though now the time
Gives way to us), I much fear. If you cannot
Bar his access to the king, never attempt
Any thing on him; for he hath a witchcraft
Over the king in his tongue.
Nor.
O, fear him not;
His spell in that is out: the king hath found
Matter against him, that for ever mars
The honey of his language. No, he's settled,
Not to come off in his displeasure.
I should be glad to hear such news as this
His practices to light?
Suff
Sur.
Suff. The cardinal's letter to the pope mis-
[read,
And came to the eye o' the king: wherein was
How that the cardinal did entreat his holiness
To stay the judgment o' the divorce: for if
It did take place, I do, quoth he, perceive
My king is tangled in affection to
A creature of the queen's, Lady Anne Bullen,
Sur. Has the king this?
Suff
Sur.
Believe it.
Will this work?
Cham. The king in this perceives him, how
And hedges, his own way. But in this point
All his tricks founder, and he brings his physick
After his patient's death; the king already
Hath married the fair lady.
Sur
'Would he had!
Suff. May you be happy in your wish, my lord!
For, I profess, you have it.
Now all my joy
Trace the conjunction!
Suff.
Nor.
Suff. There's order given for her coronation:
Marry, this is yet but young, and may be left
To some ears unrecounted.-But, my lords,
She is a gallant creature, and complete
In mind and feature: I persuade me, from her
Will fall some blessing to this land, which shall
In it be memoriz'd.
Sur.
But, will the king
Digest this letter of the cardinal's?
The lord forbid!
Wol. The packet, Cromwell, gave it you the king?
Crom. To his own hand, in his bedchamber. Wol. Look'd he o' the inside of the paper? Crom. Presently He did unseal them; and the first he view'd, He did it with a serious mind; a heed Was in his countenance: You. he bade Attend him here this morning.
I think, by this he is. Wol. Leave me awhile. [Exit CROMWELL. It shall be to the duchess of Alençon, The French king's sister; he shall marry her. Anne Bullen! No, I'll no Anne Bullens for him: There is more in it than fair visage.-Bullen! No, we'll no Bullens.-Speedily I wish To hear from Rome.-The marchioness of Nor. He's discontented. [Pembroke! Suff May be, he hears the king Does whet his anger to him. Sur.
Lord, for thy justice!
Wol. The late queen's gentlewoman; a knight's
daughter,
[queen!-
To be her mistresss' mistress! the queen's
This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it;
Then, out it goes.-What though I know her
virtuous,
And well deserving? yet I know her for
A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to
Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of
Our hard-rul'd king. Again, there is sprung up
An heretick, an arch one, Cranmer: one
Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king,
And is his oracle.
Nor.
Suff. I would 'twere something that would
fret the string,
He's vex'd at something.
The master-cord of his heart! Enter the King, reading a Schedule; and LOVELL. Suff. The king, the king. K. Hen. What piles of wealth hath he accumulated [hour To his own portion! and what expense by the Seems to flow from him! How, i' the name of thrift,
Does he rake this together?-Now, my lords; Saw you the cardinal?
Stood here observing him: Some strange commotion
Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;
Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground,
Then lays his finger on his temple; straight,
Springs out into fast gait; then stops again,
Strikes his breast hard; and anon, he casts
His eye against the moon: in most strange
We have seen him set himself. [postures
It may well be;
There is a mutiny in his mind. This morning
Papers of state he sent me to peruse,
As I requir'd: and, wot you what I found
There; on my conscience, put unwittingly?
Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing,
The several parcels of his plate, his treasure,
Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household; which
I find at such proud rate, that it outspeaks
Possession of a subject.
It's heaven's will; Some spirit put this paper in the packet, To bless your eye withal.
K. Hen. If we did think His contemplation were above the earth,
To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span,
To keep your earthly audit: Sure, in that
I deem you an ill husband; and am glad
To have you therein my companion.
Wol.
Sir.
For holy offices I have a time; a time
To think upon the part of business, which
I bear i' the state; and nature does require
Her times of preservation, which, perforce,
I her frail son, amongst my brethren mortal,
Must give my tendance to.
K. Hen.
You have said well.
Wol. And ever may your highness yoke to-
gether,
As I will lend you cause, my doing well
With my well saying!
'Tis well said again; And 'tis a kind of good deed to say well: And yet words are no deeds. My father lov'd you:
He said, he did; and with his deed did crown
His word upon you. Since I had my office,
I have kept you next my heart; have not alone
Employ'd you where high profits might come
home,
But par'd my present havings, to bestow
My bounties upon you.
Wol.
What should this mean?
Sur. The lord increase this business! [Asude.
K. Hen.
Have I not made yon
The prime man of the state? I pray you, tell me,
If what I now pronounce, you have found true:
And, if you may confess it, say, withal,
If you are bound to us or no. What say you?
Wol. My sovereign, I confess, your royal
[could Shower'd on me daily, have been more than My studied purposes requite; which went Beyond all man's endeavours;-my endeavours Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet, fil'd with my abilities: Mine own ends Have been mine so, that evermore they pointed To the good of your most sacred person, and The profit of the state. For your great graces Heap'd upon me, poor undeserver, I Can nothing render but allegiant thanks; My prayers to heaven for you; my loyalty, Which ever has, and ever shall be growing, Till death, that winter, kill it. K. Hen.
Fairly answer'd: A loyal and obedient subject is Therein illustrated: The honour of it Does pay the act of it: as, i' the contrary, The foulness is the punishment. I presume, That, as my hand has open'd bounty to you, My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour,
On you, than any: so your hand and heart, Your brain, and every function of your power, Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty, As 'twere in love's particular, be more
To me, your friend, than any.
Wol.
I do profess,
That for your highness' good I ever labour'd
More than mine own; that am, have, and will
be.
[to you,
Though all the world should crack their duty
And throw it from their soul; though perils did
Abound, as thick as thought could make them,
and
In time will find their fit rewards.
You ask with such a violence, the king
(Mine, and your master) with his own hand
gave me :
Bade me enjoy it, with the place and honours.
During my life; and, to confirm his goodness,
Tied it by letters patents: Now, who'll take it?
Sur. The king that gave it.
It must be himself then
Sur. Thou art a proud traitor, priest.
Wol.
Proud lord, thou liest;
Within these forty hours Surrey durst better
Have burnt that tongue than said so.
Sur.
Thy ambition,
Thou scarlet sin, robb'd this bewailing land
Of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law:
The heads of all thy brother cardinals
(With thee,and all thy best parts bound together)
Weigh'd not a hair of his. Plague of your policy'
You sent me deputy for Ireland;
Appear in forms more horrid; yet my duty,
As doth a rock against the chiding flood,
Should the approach of this wild river break,
And stand unshaken yours.
K. Hen.
'Tis nobly spoken:
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast,
For you have seen him open't. Read o'er this;
[Giving him papers.
And, after, this: and then to breakfast, with
What appetite you have.
[Erit King, frowning upon CARDINAL WOL-
SEY: the Nobles throng after him, smiling,
and whispering.
Wol.
What should this mean?
What sudden anger's this? how have I reap'd it?
He parted frowning from me, as if ruin
Leap'd from his eyes: So looks the chafed lion
Upon the daring huntsman that has gall'd him;
Then makes him nothing. I must read this paper,
I fear, the story of his anger.-'Tis so;
This paper has undone me:-'Tis the account
Of all that world of wealth I have drawn together
For mine own ends; indeed, to gain the pope-If I lov'd many words, lord, I should tell you,
dom,
And fee my friends in Rome. O negligence,
Fit for a fool to fall by! What cross devil
Made me put this main secret in the packet
I sent the king? Is there no way to cure this?
No new device to beat this from his brains?
I know, 'twill stir him strongly; Yet I know
A way, if it take right, in spite of fortune
Will bring me off again. What's this-To the
Pope?
The letter, as I live, with all the business
I writ to his holiness. Nay, then, farewell!
I have touch'd the highest point of all my
greatness;
And, from that full meridian of my glory,
I haste now to my setting: I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
And no man see me more.
Re-enter the DUKES OF NORFOLK and SUFFOLK,
the EARL OF SURREY, and the Lord Chamberlain.
Nor. Hear the king's pleasure, cardinal: who
commands you
To render up the great seal presently
Into our hands; and to confine yourself
To Asher-house, my lord of Winchester's,
Till you hear further from his highness.
Wol.
Stay,
Where's your commission, lords? words cannot
Authority so weighty.
[carry
Suff.
Who dare cross them?
Bearing the king's will from his mouth ex-
pressly?
[do it,
Wol. Till I find more than will, or words to
(I mean your malice), know, officious lords,
I dare and must deny it. Now I feel
Of what coarse metal ye are moulded,-envy.
How eagerly ye follow my disgraces,
As if it fed ye? and how sleek and wanton
Ye appear in every thing may bring my ruin!
Follow your envious courses, men of malice;
You have Christian warrant for them, and, no
doubt,
Far from his succour, from the king, from all
That might have mercy on the fault thou gav'st
him;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,
Absolv'd him with an axe.
This, and all else
This talking lord can lay upon my credit,
I answer, is most false. The duke by law
Found his deserts: how innocent I was
From any private malice in end,
His noble jury and foul cause can witness.
You have as little honesty as honour;
That I, in the way of loyalty and truth
Toward the king, my ever royal master,
Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be,
And all that love his follies.
Your long coat, priest, protects you: thou
should'st feel
[lords,
My sword i' the life-blood of thee else.-My
Can ye endure to hear this arrogance?
And from this fellow? If we live thus tamely,
To be thus jaded by a piece of scarlet,
Farewell nobility; let his grace go forward,
And dare us with his cap, like larks.
Wol.
Is poison to thy stomach.
Sur.
Of gleaning all the land's wealth into one,
Into your own hands, cardinal, by extortion;
The goodness of your intercepted packets,
You writ to the pope, against the king: your
goodness,
Since you provoke me,shall be most notorious.-
My lord of Norfolk, as you are truly noble,
As you respect the common good, the state
Of our despis'd nobility, our issues,
Who, if he live, will scarce be gentlemen,-
Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles
Collected from his life;-I'll startle you
Worse than the sacring bell, when the brown
Lay kissing in your arms, lord cardinal. [wench
Wol. How much, methinks, I could despise
But that I am bound in charity against it!
Nor. Those articles, my lord, are in the king's
But, thus much, they are foul ones. [hand:
Wol.
So much fairer,
And spotless, shall mine innocence arise,
When the king knows my truth.
This cannot save you;
I thank my memory, I yet remember
Some of these articles; and out they shall.
Now, if
you can blush, and cry guilty, cardinal
You'll show a little honesty.
Speak on, sir: I dare your worst objections: if I blush, It is, to see a nobleman want manners. Sur. I'd rather want those, than my head. Have at you. [ledge, First, that without the king's assent, or knowYou wrought to be a legate; by which power You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. Nor. Then, that, in all you writ to Rome, or To foreign princes, Ego et Rex meus [else Was still inscrib'd; in which you brought the To be your servant, [king Suff Then, that, without the knowledge Either of king or council, when you went Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold To carry into Flanders the great seal.
Sur. Item, you sent a large commission
To Gregory de Cassalis, to conclude,
Without the king's will, or the state's allowance,
A league between his highness and Ferrara.
Suff. That, out of mere ambition, you have
caus'd
Your holy hat to be stamp'd on the king's coin.
Sur. Then, that you have sent innumerable
substance
[science),
(By what means got, I leave to your own con-
To furnish Rome, and to prepare the ways
You have for dignities; to the mere undoing
Of all the kingdom. Many more there are;
Which, since they are of you, and odious,
I will not taint my mouth with.
Cham
O my lord,
Press not a falling man too far; 'tis virtue:
His faults lie open to the laws; let them,
Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see
So little of his great self.
[him
Sur.
I forgive him.
Suff. Lord Cardinal, the king's further plea-
sure is.-
Because all those things, you have done of late
By your power legatine within this kingdom,
Fall into compass of a pramunire,-
That therefore such a writ be sued against you;
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be
Ontof the king's protection:-this is my charge.
Nor. And so we'll leave you to your medita-
tions
How to live better. For your stubborn answer,
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The king shall know it, and, no doubt, shall
thank you.
So fare you well, my little good lord cardinal.
[Exeunt all but WOLSEY.
Wol. So farewell to the little good you bear me.
Farewell, a long farewell to all my greatness!
This is the state of man; To-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him:
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost;
And,-when he thinks, good easy man, full
surely
His greatness is a ripening,-nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventur'd,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory;
But far beyond my depth; my high-blown pride
At length broke under me; and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me;
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye;
I feel my heart new open'd: O, how wretched
Is that poor man,that hangs on princes' favours!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.
Enter CROMWELL, amazedly.
Why, how now, Cromwell? Crom. I have no power to speak, sir. Wol. What, amaz'd At my misfortunes? can thy spirit wonder, A great man should decline? Nay, an you weep, I am fallen indeed. How does your grace? Wol. Why, well; Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell. I know myself now; and I feel within me peace above all earthly dignities,
A
A still and quiet conscience. The king has cur'd
[shoulders,
I humbly thank his grace; and from these
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy, too much honour:
O, 'tis a burden, Cromwell, 'tis a burden,
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven.
Crom. I am glad your grace has made that
right use of it.
Wol. I hope, I have: I am feeble now methinks (Out of a fortitude of soul I feel),
To endure more miseries, and greater far,
Than my weak-hearted enemies dare offer.
What news abroad?
Crom.
The heaviest, and the worst,
Is your displeasure with the king.
Wol.
God bless him!
Crom, The next is, that Sir Thomas More is
Lord Chancellor in your place. [chosen
Wol.
That's somewhat sudden:
But he's a learned man. May he continue
Long in his highness' favour, and do justice
For truth's sake, and his conscience; that his
bones,
[ings,
When he has run his course, and sleeps in bless-
May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on 'em!
What more?
Crom. That Cranmer is return'd with welcome, Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury. Wol. That's news indeed. Crom.
Last, that the Lady Anne, Whom the king hath in secrecy long married, This day was view'd in open, as his queen, Going to chapel; and the voice is now Only about her coronation.
Wol. There was the weight that pull'd me down. O, Cromwell,
The king has gone beyond me, all my glories
In that one woman I have lost for ever:
No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours,
Or gild again the noble troops that waited
Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Crom-
I am a poor fallen man, unworthy now [well;
To be thy lord and master; Seek the king;
That sun, I pray, may never set! I have told him
What, and how true thou art: he will advance
Some little memory of me will stir him [thee;
(I know his noble nature) not to let
Thy hopeful service perish too: Good Cromwell,
Neglect him not; make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety.
Crom.
O, my lord,
Must I then leave you? Must I needs forego
So good, so noble, and so true a master?
Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord.—
The king shall have my service; but my prayers
For ever, and for ever, shall be yours.
Wol. Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thon hast forc'd me
Out of thy honest truth to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Crom-
well;
And,-when I am forgotten, as I shall be;
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of,-say, I taught
thee;
Say, Wolsey,--that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of ho-
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in;
A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'dit;
Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition;
By that sin fell the angels, how can man then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by't?
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate
Corruption wins not more than honesty; [thee;
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:
Let all the ends, thou aim'st at, be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O
Cromwell,
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Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. Serve the king; 5.
And,-Prythee, lead me in:
There, take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny: 'tis the king's: my robe,
And my integrity to heaven, is all [well,
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Crom- 6.
Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal
I serv'd my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.
Crom. Good sir, have patience.
Wol.
So I have. Farewell 7.
The hopes of court! my hopes in heaven do dwell.
The Lady Aune pass from her coronation? 2 Gent. 'Tis all my business. At our last encounter,
The duke of Buckingham came from his trial. 1 Gent. 'Tis very true: but that time offer'd This, general joy. [sorrow; 2 Gent. 'Tis well: The citizens, I am sure, have shown at full their royal minds, (As, let them have their rights, they are ever forIn celebration of this day with shows, [ward) Pageants, and sights of honour.
1 Gent. Never greater, Nor, I'll assure you, better taken, sir. 2 Gent. May I be bold to ask what that contains, That paper in your hand?
1 Gent. Yes; 'tis the list Of those that claim their offices this day, By custom of the coronation.
The duke of Suffolk is the first, and claims To be high steward; next, the duke of Norfolk, He to be earl marshal: you may read the rest. 2 Gent. I thank you, sir; had I not known those customs,
I should have been beholden to your paper. But, I beseech you, what's become of Katharine,
Mayor of London, bearing the mace.
ter, in his coat of arms, and on his head a gilt copper crown.
Marquis Dorset, bearing a sceptre of gold, on his
head a demi-coronal of gold. With him, the Earl of Surrey, bearing the rod of silver with the dove, crowned with an earl's coronet. Collars of SS.
Duke of Suffolk, in his robe of estate, his coronet on his head, bearing a long white wand, as high-steward. With him, the Duke of Norfolk, with the rod of marshalship, a coronet on his head. Collars of SS. A canopy borne by four of the Cinque-ports; under it, the Queen in her robe; her hair richly adorned with pearl, crowned. On each side of her, the Bishops of London and Winchester. The old Duchess of Norfolk, in a coronal of gold, wrought with flowers, bearing the Queen's train.
9. Certain Ladies or Countesses, with plain circlets of gold without flowers.
2 Gent. A royal train, believe me.-These I Who's that, that bears the sceptre ? [know;1 Gent. And that the earl of Surrey with the rod. Marquis Dorset: 2 Gent. A bold brave gentleman: And that The duke of Suffolk. [should be 1 Gent. 'Tis the same; high steward. 2 Gent. And that my lord of Norfolk? 1 Gent. Yes. 2 Gent. Heaven bless thee; [Looking on the Queen. Thou hast the sweetest face I ever look'd on.Sir, as I have a soul, she is an angel; Our king has all the Indies in his arms, And more, and richer, when he strains that lady;
I cannot blame his conscience. 1 Gent. They, that bear The cloth of honour over her, are four barons of the Cinque-ports. [are near her. 2 Gent. Those men are happy; and so are all, I take it, she that carries up the train, Is that old noble lady, duchess of Norfolk.
1 Gent. It is; and all the rest are countesses. 2 Gent. Their coronets say so. These are And, sometimes, falling ones. [stars indeed;
No more of that. [Exit Procession, with a great flourish of Trumpets.
Enter a third Gentleman.
The princess dowager? how goes her business? God save you, sir! Where have you been broil
1 Gent. That I can tell you too. The archbishop Of Canterbury, accompanied with other
[a finger 3 Gent. Among the crowd i'the abbey; where
|