King Henry VI, Part II

King Henry VI, Part II

ACT II SCENE II	London. YORK'S garden.
	Enter YORK, SALISBURY, and WARWICK
YORK	Now, my good Lords of Salisbury and Warwick,
	Our simple supper ended, give me leave
	In this close walk to satisfy myself,
	In craving your opinion of my title,	5
	Which is infallible, to England's crown.
SALISBURY	My lord, I long to hear it at full.
WARWICK	Sweet York, begin: and if thy claim be good,
	The Nevils are thy subjects to command.
YORK	Then thus:	10
	Edward the Third, my lords, had seven sons:
	The first, Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales;
	The second, William of Hatfield, and the third,
	Lionel Duke of Clarence: next to whom
	Was John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster;	15
	The fifth was Edmund Langley, Duke of York;
	The sixth was Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester;
	William of Windsor was the seventh and last.
	Edward the Black Prince died before his father
	And left behind him Richard, his only son,	20
	Who after Edward the Third's death reign'd as king;
	Till Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster,
	The eldest son and heir of John of Gaunt,
	Crown'd by the name of Henry the Fourth,
	Seized on the realm, deposed the rightful king,	25
	Sent his poor queen to France, from whence she came,
	And him to Pomfret; where, as all you know,
	Harmless Richard was murder'd traitorously.
WARWICK	Father, the duke hath told the truth:
	Thus got the house of Lancaster the crown.	30
YORK	Which now they hold by force and not by right;
	For Richard, the first son's heir, being dead,
	The issue of the next son should have reign'd.
SALISBURY	But William of Hatfield died without an heir.
YORK	The third son, Duke of Clarence, from whose line	35
	I claimed the crown, had issue, Philippe, a daughter,
	Who married Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March:
	Edmund had issue, Roger Earl of March;
	Roger had issue, Edmund, Anne and Eleanor.
SALISBURY	This Edmund, in the reign of Bolingbroke,	40
	As I have read, laid claim unto the crown;
	And, but for Owen Glendower, had been king,
	Who kept him in captivity till he died.
	But to the rest.
YORK	His eldest sister, Anne,	45
	My mother, being heir unto the crown
	Married Richard Earl of Cambridge; who was son
	To Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth son.
	By her I claim the kingdom: she was heir
	To Roger Earl of March, who was the son	50
	Of Edmund Mortimer, who married Philippe,
	Sole daughter unto Lionel Duke of Clarence:
	So, if the issue of the elder son
	Succeed before the younger, I am king.
WARWICK	What plain proceeding is more plain than this?	55
	Henry doth claim the crown from John of Gaunt,
	The fourth son; York claims it from the third.
	Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign:
	It fails not yet, but flourishes in thee
	And in thy sons, fair slips of such a stock.	60
	Then, father Salisbury, kneel we together;
	And in this private plot be we the first
	That shall salute our rightful sovereign
	With honour of his birthright to the crown.
BOTH	Long live our sovereign Richard, England's king!	65
YORK	We thank you, lords. But I am not your king
	Till I be crown'd and that my sword be stain'd
	With heart-blood of the house of Lancaster;
	And that's not suddenly to be perform'd,
	But with advice and silent secrecy.	70
	Do you as I do in these dangerous days:
	Wink at the Duke of Suffolk's insolence,
	At Beaufort's pride, at Somerset's ambition,
	At Buckingham and all the crew of them,
	Till they have snared the shepherd of the flock,	75
	That virtuous prince, the good Duke Humphrey:
	'Tis that they seek, and they in seeking that
	Shall find their deaths, if York can prophesy.
SALISBURY	My lord, break we off; we know your mind at full.
WARWICK	My heart assures me that the Earl of Warwick	80
	Shall one day make the Duke of York a king.
YORK	And, Nevil, this I do assure myself:
	Richard shall live to make the Earl of Warwick
	The greatest man in England but the king.
	Exeunt