I go of meffage from the Queen to France; I charge thee waft me fafely cross the channel. Cap. Walter Whit. Come, Suffolk, I muft waft thee to thy death. Suf. Gelidus timor occupat artus, it's thee I fear. Whit. Thou shalt have caufe to fear, before I leave thee. What, are ye daunted now? now will ye stoop? 1 Gent. My gracious Lord, intreat him; fpeak him fair. Suf. Suffolk's imperial tongue is ftern and rough, Us'd to command, untaught to plead for favour. Far be it we fhould honour fuch as thefe With humble fuit; no; rather let my head Stoop to the block than these knees bow to any, Save to the God of heav'n and to my King; And fooner dance upon a bloody pole, Than ftand uncover'd to the vulgar groom. + 'Know true' Nobility is exempt from fear: More can I bear than you dare execute. 5 Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. Suf. 'Come, foldiers, fhew what cruelty you can, That this my death may never be forgot. Great men oft die by vile Bezonians. A Roman fworder and Bandetto nave Pompey the Great; and Suffolk dies by pirates. [Exit Walter Whitmore with Suffolk. Cap. And as for these whose ransom we have fet, It is our pleasure one of them depart; Therefore come you with us, and let him go. [Exeunt Captain and the reft. Manet the firft Gentleman. Enter Whitmore with the body. Whit. There let his head and liveless body lye, Until the Queen his mistress bury it. 1 Gent. O barbarous and bloody fpectacle! 4 True [Exit Whitmore. His 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. SCENE II. SOUTHWARK. Enter Bevis and John Holland. Bevis COME and get thee a fword though made of a lath; they have been up these two days. Hol. They have the more need to sleep now then. Bevis. I tell thee Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the Commonwealth, and turn it, and fet a new nap upon it. Hol. So he had need, 'tis thread-bare. Well, I fay it was never a merry world in England fince gentlemen came up. Bevis. O miferable age! virtue is not regarded in handycrafts men. Hol. The Nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. Bevis. Nay more, the King's council are no good workmen. Hol. True, and yet it is faid, Labour in thy vocation; which is as much as to fay, let the magiftrates be labouring men; and therefore fhould we be magiftrates. Bevis. Thou haft hit it; for there's no better fign of a brave mind than a hard hand. Hol. I fee them, I fee them; there's Beft's fon, the tanner of Wingham. Bevis. He fhall have the skins of our enemies to make dog's leather of. Hal. And Dick the butcher. Bevis. Then is fin ftruck down like an ox, and iniquity's throat cut like a calf. Hol. And Smith the weaver. Bevis. Argo, their thread of life is fpun. Drum. Drum. Enter Cade, Dick the butcher, Smith the weaver, and a fawyer, with infinite numbers. Cade. We John Cade, 'fo termed of our fuppofed fa ther Dick. Or rather of stealing a cade of herrings. Cade. For our enemies fhall fall before us, infpired with the fpirit of putting down Kings and Princes; command filence. Dick. Silence. Cade. My father was a Mortimer Dick. He was an honeft man and a good bricklayer. Dick. I knew her well, fhe was a midwife. Dick. She was indeed a pedlar's daughter, and fold many laces. Wear. But now of late not able to travel with her furr'd pack, she washes bucks here at home. Cade. Therefore am I of an honourable house. Dick. Ay, by my faith, the field is honourable, and there was he born under a hedge; for his father had never a house but the cage. Cade. Valiant I am. Wear. A' must needs, for beggary is valiant. Cade. I am able to endure much. Dick. No queftion of that; for I have seen him whipt three market days together. Cade. I fear neither fword nor fire. Weav. He need not fear the fword, for his coat is of proof, a Dick. But methinks he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i' th' hand for stealing of sheep. Cade. Be brave then, for your captain is brave and vows reformation. There fhall be in England feven half-penny loaves fold for a penny; the three-hoop'd pot fhall have ten hoops, and I will make it felony to drink small beer. All (a) A quibble intended between two fenfes of the word, one as being able to refift, the other as being well tried, that is, long worn. All the realm fhall be in common, and in Cheapfide fhall my palfry go to grafs; and when I am King, as King I will be All. God fave your Majefty! Cade. I thank you, good people. There fhall be no mony, all fhall eat and drink upon my score, and I will ap parel 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 the skin of an innocent lamb fhould be made parchment; that parchment being fcribbled o'er, fhould undo a man? Some fay the bee ftings, but I fay 'tis bees wax; for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was never my own man fince. How now? who is there? .: Enter a Clerk. Wear. The clerk of Chatham; he can write and read, and caft accompt. Cade. O monftrous! Wear. We took him fetting boys copies. Cade. Here's a villain! Weav. He'as a book in his pocket with red letters in't. Cade. Nay then he's a conjurer. Dick. Nay, he can make obligations and write courthand. Cade. I am forry for't: the man is a proper man, of mine honour; unless I find him guilty, he shall not die. Come hither, firrah, I must examine thee; what is thy name? Clerk. Emanuel. Dick. They ufe to write it on the top of letters: a 'twill go hard with you. Cade. Let me alone. Doft thou ufe to write thy name? or haft thou a mark to thy felf like an honest plain-dealing man? L Clerk. VOL. IV. (a) Several inftances of this may be found in Mabillon's Diplomata. Warburton. Clerk. Sir, I thank God I have been fo well brought up, that I can write my name. All. He hath confeft; away with him; he is a villain and a traitor. Cade. Away with him, I fay: hang him with his pen [Exit one with the Clerk. and inkhorn about his neck. Enter Michael. Mich. Where is our General? Cade. Here I am, thou particular fellow. Mich. Fly, fly, fly; Sir Humphry Stafford and his brother are hard by with the King's forces.. Cade. Stand, villain, ftand, or I'll fell thee down; he shall be encounter'd with a man as good as himself. He is but a Knight, is a'? Mich. No. Cade. To equal him I will make my felf a Knight prefently; rife up, Sir John Mortimer. Now have at him. Enter Sir Humphry Stafford, and young Stafford, with Staf. Rebellious hinds, the filth and fcum of Kent, Y. Staf. But angry, wrathful, and inclin'd to blood, Cade. As for thefe filken-coated slaves I pass 'them,` It is to you, good people, that I speak, O'er whom (in time to come) I hope to reign; For I am rightful heir unto the crown. Staf. Villain, thy father was a plaisterer, And thou thy felf a fhearman, art thou not? Y. Staf. And what of that? Cade. 1 |