Suff. Obscure and lowly swain, king Henry's blood, The honorable blood of Lancaster,

Must not be shed by such a jaded groom.

Hast thou not kissed thy hand, and held my stirrup?
Bare-headed plodded by my footcloth mule,

And thought thee happy when I shook my head?
How often hast thou waited at my cup,

Fed from my trencher, kneeled down at the board,
When I have feasted with queen Margaret!
Remember it, and let it make thee crest-fallen;
Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride.
How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood,
And duly waited for my coming forth!
This hand of mine hath writ in thy behalf,
And therefore shall it charm thy riotous tongue.
Whit. Speak, captain, shall I stab the forlorn swain?
Cap. First let my words stab him, as he hath me.
Suff. Base slave! thy words are blunt, and so art thou.
Cap. Convey him hence, and on our longboat's side
Strike off his head.

Cap.

Thou dar'st not for thy own.

Poole ?

Poole? sir Poole? Lord!

Ay, kennel, puddle, sink; whose filth and dirt
Troubles the silver spring where England drinks.
Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth,

For swallowing the treasure of the realm.

Thy lips, that kissed the queen, shall sweep the ground; And thou, that smil'dst at good duke Humphrey's death, Against the senseless winds shall grin in vain,

Who, in contempt, shall hiss at thee again;

And wedded be thou to the hags of hell,

For daring to affy a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king,
Having neither subject, wealth, nor diadem.
By devilish policy art thou grown great,
And, like ambitious Sylla, overgorged
With goblets of thy mother's bleeding heart.
By thee, Anjou and Maine were sold to France.
The false, revolting Normans, thorough thee,
Disdain to call us lord; and Picardy

Hath slain their governors, surprised our forts,
And sent the ragged soldiers wounded home.
The princely Warwick, and the Nevils all,-

Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain,—

As hating thee, are rising up in arms.

And now the house of York-thrust from the crown, By shameful murder of a guiltless king,

And lofty, proud, encroaching tyranny

Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colors
Advance our half-faced sun, striving to shine,
Under the which is writ-Invitis nubibus.
The commons here in Kent are up in arms;
And, to conclude, reproach, and beggary,
Is crept into the palace of our king,
And all by thee.-Away! convey him hence.

Suff. O that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges!

Small things make base men proud; this villain here,
Being captain of a pinnace, threatens more
Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate.
Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob beehives.
It is impossible, that I should die

By such a lowly vassal as thyself.

Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me: go of message from the queen to France;

I

I charge thee, waft me safely cross the channel.
Cap. Walter,

Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death. Suff. Gelidus timor occupat artus;-'tis thee I fear. Whit. Thou shalt have cause to fear, before I leave thee. What, are ye daunted now? now will ye stoop?

1 Gent. My gracious lord, entreat him, speak him fair.
Suff. Suffolk's imperial tongue is stern and rough,
Used to command, untaught to plead for favor.
Far be it we should honor such as these
With humble suit; no, rather let my head

Stoop to the block, than these knees bow to any,
Save to the God of heaven, and to my king;

And sooner dance upon a bloody pole,
Than stand uncovered to the vulgar groom.
True nobility is exempt from fear;

More can I bear, than you dare execute.

Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. Suff. Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can, That this my death may never be forgot!

Great men oft die by vile bezonians.

A Roman sworder and banditto slave,

Murdered sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand

Stabbed Julius Cæsar; savage islanders,

Pompey the Great; and Suffolk dies by pirates.

[Exit SUFF., with WHIT. and others. Cap. And as for these whose ransom we have set, It is our pleasure, one of them depart.Therefore come you with us, and let him go.

[Exeunt all but the first Gentleman.

Re-enter WHITMORE, with SUFFOLK's body. Whit. There let his head and lifeless body lie, Until the queen his mistress bury it.

1 Gent. O barbarous and bloody spectacle! His body will I bear unto the king:

If he revenge it not, yet will his friends;
So will the queen, that living held him dear.

[Exit.

[Exit with the body.

SCENE II. Blackheath.

Enter GEORGE BEVIS and JOHN HOLLAND.

Geo. Come, and get thee a sword, though made of a lath; they have been up these two days.

John. They have the more need to sleep now then. Geo. I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap upon it. John. So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say, it was never merry world in England, since gentlemen came up. Geo. O miserable age! Virtue is not regarded in handicrafts-men.

John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. Geo. Nay, more, the king's council are no good workmen. John. True; and yet it is said,-Labor in thy vocation; which is as much to say, as,- Let the magistrates be laboring men; and therefore should we be magistrates.

Geo. Thou hast hit it; for there's no better sign of a brave mind, than a hard hand.

John. I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner of Wingham ;

Geo. He shall have the skins of our enemies, to make dog's leather of.

John. And Dick the butcher,

Geo. Then is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity's throat cut like a calf.

John. And Smith the weaver,

Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun.

John. Come, come, let's fall in with them.

Drum. Enter CADE, DICK the Butcher, SMITH the Weaver, and others in great number.

Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our supposed father,Dick. Or, rather, of stealing a cade of herrings. [Aside. Cade. for our enemies shall fall before us, inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes.-Command silence.

Dick. Silence!

Cade. My father was a Mortimer.

Dick. He was an honest man, and a good bricklayer.

Cade. My mother a Plantagenet,

[Aside.

[Aside.

Dick. I knew her well; she was a midwife.
Cade. My wife descended of the Lacies,—
Dick. She was, indeed, a pedler's daughter, and sold

many laces.

[Aside.

Smith. But, now of late, not able to travel with her furred pack, she washes bucks here at home.

[Aside.

Cade. Therefore am I of an honorable house. Dick. Ay, by my faith, the field is honorable; and there was he born, under a hedge; for his father had never a house, but the cage.

Cade. Valiant I am.

[Aside.

Smith. 'A must needs; for beggary is valiant. [Aside. Cade. I am able to endure much.

Dick. No question of that; for I have seen him whipped three market days together.

Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire.

[Aside.

Smith. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof. [Aside. Dick. But, methinks, he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i'the hand for stealing of sheep. [Aside.

Cade. Be brave then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be, in England, seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony, to drink small beer; all the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass. And, when I am king (as king I will be)

All. God save your majesty!

Cade. I thank you, good people! - there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one livery, that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.

Dick. The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Cade. Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled o'er, should undo a man? Some say, the bee stings; but I say, 'tis the bee's wax; for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never mine own man since. How now? who's there?

Enter some, bringing in the Clerk of Chatham. Smith. The clerk of Chatham: he can write and read, and cast accompt.

Cade. O monstrous !

Smith. We took him setting of boys' copies.

Cade. Here's a villain!

Smith. H'as a book in his pocket, with red letters in't. Cade. Nay, then he is a conjurer.

Dick. Nay, he can make obligations, and write court-hand. Cade. I am sorry for't; the man is a proper man, on mine honor; unless I find him guilty, he shall not die.Come hither, sirrah, I must examine thee. What is thy name?

Clerk. Emmanuel.

Dick. They use to write it on the top of letters.-'Twill go hard with you.

Cade. Let me alone.-Dost thou use to write thy name? or hast thou a mark to thyself, like an honest, plain-dealing man?

Clerk. Sir, I thank God, I have been so well brought up, that I can write my name.

All. He hath confessed: away with him; he's a villain, and a traitor.

Cade. Away with him, I say; hang him with his pen and inkhorn about his neck.

[Exeunt some, with the Clerk.

Enter MICHAEL.

Mich. Where's our general?

Cade. Here I am, thou particular fellow.

Mich. Fly, fly, fly! sir Humphrey Stafford and his brother are hard by, with the king's forces.

Cade. Stand, villain, stand, or I'll fell thee down. He shall be encountered with a man as good as himself. He is but a knight, is 'a?

Mich. No.

Cade. To equal him, I will make myself a knight presently; rise up sir John Mortimer. Now have at him.