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Henry VI part one

Act II, Scene 5

 

The Tower of London.
     
[Enter MORTIMER, brought in a chair, and Gaolers]
 
MORTIMER
        ,    ,                ,       ,       ,
      Kind keep/ers of | my weak | decay|ing age,
           ,      ,     ,           ,        ,
      Let^dy|ing Mort|imer | here^rest | himself.
        x      T  .  T   T      ,                ,
      Even | like a man new | haled from | the rack,
           ,         ,            ,        ,      ,
      So fare | my limbs | with long | impris|onment:
       .    T     T    T           ,      ,          ,
      And these grey locks,| the purs|uivants | of death,
       ,        ,   ,              ,         ,
      Nestor-|like ag/ed, in | an age | of care,
       ,           ,        ,       ,     ,
      Argue | the end | of Ed|mund Mort|imer.
              ,           ,             ,       ,         ,
      These^eyes,| like^lamps,| whose wast|ing oil | is spent,
       T   T    .   T       ,          ,    ,
      Wax dim, as draw|ing to | their ex|igent.
        T      Tx      T     ,            ,   2      ,
      Weak shoulders, ov|erborne | with burd|ening grief,
            ,         ,      ,           ,         ,
      And pith|less arms,| like to | a with|ered vine,
              ,          ,          ,       ,          ,
      That droops | his sap|less branch|es to | the ground,
           ,            ,              ,           ,         ,
      Yet are | these^feet,| whose strength|less stay | is numb,
         ,      ,       ,            ,         ,
      (Una|ble to | support | this lump | of clay)
        ,     ,                ,        ,        ,
      Swift-wing/ed with | desire | to get | a grave,
          ,       ,       ,      ,         ,
      As wit|ting I | no oth|er com|fort have.
            ,          ,        ,         ,       ,
      But tell | me, keep|er, will | my neph|ew come?
 
KEEPER
       ,             ,    ,         ,           ,
      Richard | Plantag|enet,| my lord,| will come:
           ,     ,  2       ,        ,  2        ,
      We sent | unto the | Temple,| unto his | chamber,
           ,       ,         ,           ,          ,
      And ans|wer was | returned,| that he | will come.
 
MORTIMER
          ,         ,            ,        ,      ,
      Enough:| my soul | shall then | be sat|isfied.
        ,   ,                 ,          ,        ,
      Poor gent/leman,| his wrong | doth e|qual mine.
             ,      ,          ,        ,         ,
      Since Hen|ry Mon|mouth first | began | to reign,
          ,      ,    ,               ,          ,
      Before | whose glo/ry I | was great | in arms,
             ,         ,      ,         ,       ,
      This loath|some se|questra|tion have | I had;
            x            ,           ,        ,         ,
      And even | since^then,| hath Rich|ard been | obscured,
           ,         ,      ,       ,     ,
      Deprived | of hon|or and | inher|itance.
           ,         ,     ,      ,        ,
      But now,| the ar|bitrat|or of | despairs,
             ,       ,   ,             T     Tx  T
      Just^death,| kind um/pire^of | men's miseries,
             ,         ,          ,        ,          ,
      With sweet | enlarge|ment doth | dismiss | me hence:
          ,           ,         ,         ,        ,
      I would | his troub|les like|wise^were | expired,
            ,        ,         ,       ,         __
      That so | he might | recover | what was | lost.
 
      [Enter RICHARD PLANTAGENET]
 
KEEPER
           ,           ,        ,      ,         ,
      My lord, | your lov|ing neph|ew now | is come.
 
MORTIMER
        ,            ,    ,          ,       2     ,
      Richard | Plantag|enet,| my friend,| is he come?
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
       T     Tx   T        ,       ,       ,
      Aye, noble unc|le, thus | ignob|ly used,
             ,        ,        ,       ,         ,
      Your neph|ew, late | despis|ed Rich|ard, comes.
 
MORTIMER
          ,           ,       ,        ,           ,
      Direct | mine^arms,| I may | embrace | his neck,
           ,        ,       ,         ,        ,
      And in | his bos|om spend | my lat|ter gasp.
           ,         ,         ,         ,            ,
      Oh tell | me when | my lips | do touch | his cheeks,
           ,         ,       ,           ,         ,
      That I | may kind|ly give | one* faint|ing kiss.
           ,         ,             ,           ,               ,
      And now | declare | sweet* stem | from York's | great* stock,  ??
            ,           ,         ,           ,        ,
      Why didst | thou say | of late | thou wert | despised?
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
              ,          ,       ,        ,           ,
      First^lean | thine^ag|ed back | against | mine^arm,
           ,          ,           ,          ,    ,
      And in | that ease,| I'll tell | thee my | disease.
            ,        ,     ,       ,       ,
      This^day | in arg|ument | upon | a case,
             ,             ,            ,     ,         ,
      Some^words | there grew | 'twixt^Som|erset | and me:
         ,            ,          ,         ,         ,
      Among | which^terms,| he used | his lav|ish tongue,
           ,        ,          ,        ,          ,
      And did | upbraid | me with | my fath|er's death;
             ,    ,          ,        ,          ,
      Which ob|loquy | set^bars | before | my tongue,
        ,               ,       ,        ,      ,
      Else with | the like | I had | requit|ed him.
             ,          ,       ,        ,          ,
      Therefore | good unc|le, for | my fath|er's sake,
          ,      ,       ,         ,    ,
      In hon|or of | a true | Plantag|enet,
           ,       ,        ,        ,           ,
      And for | alli|ance^sake,| declare | the cause
           ,        ,        ,            ,          ,
      My fath|er, Earl | of Cam|bridge, lost | his head.
 
MORTIMER
             ,       ,    ,                 ,        ,
      That cause |(fair neph/ew) that | impris|oned me,
            ,         ,         ,          x         ,
      And hath | detained | me all | my flower|ing youth,
          ,        ,         ,          ,          ,
      Within | a loath|some dun|geon, there | to pine,
            ,      ,       ,        ,        ,
      Was curs|ed inst|rument | of his | decease.
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
          ,       ,         ,            ,           ,
      Discov|er more | at large | what cause | that was,
          ,       ,     ,         ,        ,
      For I | am ig|norant,| and can|not guess.
 
MORTIMER
          ,         ,        ,         ,         ,
      I will,| if that | my fad|ing breath | permit,
            ,          ,      ,              ,         ,
      And death | approach | not, ere | my tale | be done.
       ,             ,       ,   ,                  ,
      Henry | the Fourth,| grandfath/er to | this king,
           ,          ,       ,        ,         ,
      Deposed | his neph|ew Rich|ard, Ed|ward's son,
            ,       ,        ,         ,        ,
      The first-|begot|ten, and | the law|ful heir
          ,        ,          ,          ,        ,
      Of Ed|ward king,| the third | of that | descent.
       ,               ,          ,        ,         ,
      During | whose^reign,| the Per|cies of | the north,
        ,            ,    ,        ,        ,
      Finding | his us|urpa|tion most | unjust,
          ,        ,       ,         ,          ,
      Endeav|ored my | advance|ment to | the throne.
            ,       ,            ,    T    T    .   T
      The reas|on moved | these war|like lords to this,
       ,                 ,            ,        ,         ,
      Was, for | that (young | King^Rich|ard thus | removed,
        ,            ,       ,       ,        ,     ->
      Leaving | no heir | begot|ten of | his bod||y)
      ,      2      ,         ,          ,      ,
      I | was the next | by birth | and par|entage:
           ,        ,      ,      ,      ,
      For by | my moth|er, I | deriv|ed am
            ,  2     ,         ,          ,     ___
      From Li|onel Duke | of Clar|ence, third | son
           ,     ,             ,       T   T  T
      To King | Edward | the Third;| whereas he,
             ,         ,            ,          ,     ,
      From John | of Gaunt | doth^bring | his ped|igree,
       ,             ,          ,       ,      ,
      Being | but fourth | of that | hero|ic line.
            ,        ,          ,        ,         ,
      But mark:| as in | this haugh|ty great | attempt,
            ,    ,         ,           ,         ,
      They lab|ored,| to plant | the right|ful heir,
          ,        ,     ,         ,            ,
      I lost | my lib|erty,| and they | their lives.
       __    ,         ,           ,            ,
      Long | after | this, when | Henry | the Fifth
            ,     2     ,       ,        ,          ,
      (Succeed|ing his fath|er Bol|ingbroke)| did reign;
           ,        ,         ,            ,        ,
      Thy fath|er, Earl | of Cam|bridge, then | derived
            ,       ,        ,         ,         ,
      From fam|ous Ed|mund Lang|ley, Duke | of York,
       ,       2    ,        ,          ,      ,
      Marry|ing my sis|ter that | thy moth|er was;
         ,        ,     ,        ,          ,
      Again,| in pit|y of | my hard | distress,
       ,           ,       ,       ,       ,
      Levied | an ar|my, ween|ing to | redeem,
            ,          ,      ,           ,   ,
      And have | installed | me in | the di|adem:
           ,         ,         ,          ,       ,
      But as | the rest,| so fell | that nob|le earl,
           ,        ,        ,          ,     ,
      And was | behead|ed. Thus | the Mort|imers,
           ,          ,      ,         ,        ,
      In whom | the tide | rested, | were sup|pressed.
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
           ,          ,          ,      ,         ,
      Of which,| my lord,| your hon|or is | the last.
 
MORTIMER
        ,                ,          ,       ,       ,
      True; and | thou seest | that I | no is|sue have,
            ,         ,         ,         ,         ,
      And that | my faint|ing words | do war|rant death:
            ,         ,          ,        ,            x
      Thou art | my heir;| the rest | I wish | thee gather:
           ,        ,     ,         ,    2    ,
      But yet | be wa|ry in | thy stud|ious care.
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
            ,        ,       ,          ,          ,
      Thy grave | admon|ishments | prevail | with me:
           ,         ,         ,         ,   ,      2->
      But yet | methinks,| my fath|er's ex|ecu||tion
            ,        ,           ,      ,     ,
      Was noth|ing less | than blood|y tyr|anny.
 
MORTIMER
            ,         ,        ,         ,     ,
      With sil|ence, neph|ew, be | thou pol|itic,
         ,    ,                ,         ,      ,
      Strong-fix/ed is | the house | of Lan|caster,
            ,        ,         ,        ,        ,
      And like | a mount|ain, not | to be | removed.
           ,         ,      ,      ,        ,
      But now | thy unc|le is | remov|ing hence,
           ,       ,            ,            ,           ,
      As prin|ces do | their courts,| when they | are cloyed
             ,        ,    2    ,      ,         ,
      With long | contin|uance in | a set|tled place.
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
         ,        ,            ,              ,     ,
      O unc|le, would | some part | of my / young years
        ,             ,         ,        ,         ,
      Might but | redeem | the pas|sage of | your age.
 
MORTIMER
             ,           ,          ,           ,     2     ,
      Thou dost | then wrong | me, as | that slaught|erer doth,
             ,       ,       ,           ,           ,
      Which giv|eth ma|ny wounds,| when one | will kill.
             ,        ,          ,       ,         ,
      Mourn^not,| except | thou sor|row for | my good,
       ,       ,   ,               ,    ,
      Only | give ord/er for | my fun|eral.
           ,         ,          ,        ,          ,
      And so | farewell,| and fair | be all | thy hopes,
           ,     2     ,         ,         ,          ,
      And pros|perous be | thy life | in peace | and war.
 
[Dies]
 
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
            ,         ,        ,         ,         ,
      And peace,| no^war,| befall | thy part|ing soul.
           ,       ,           ,        ,       ,
      In pris|on hast | thou spent | a pil|grimage,
            ,       ,       ,      ,           ,
      And like | a her|mit ov|erpassed | thy days.
        ,              ,          ,       ,        ,
      Well, I | will lock | his couns|el in | my breast,
            ,       ,     ,        ,           ,
      And what | I do | imag|ine, let | that rest.
        ,           ,          ,         ,       ,
      Keepers | convey | him hence,| and I | myself
            ,         ,       ,        ,          ,
      Will see | his bur|ial bet|ter than | his life.
 
[Exeunt Gaolers, bearing out the body of MORTIMER]
        T    T   .   T       ,         ,     ,
      Here dies the dus|ky torch | of Mort|imer,
         ,             ,       ,         ,       ,
      Choked with | ambi|tion of | the mean|er sort.
           ,             ,            ,       ,     ,
      And for | those wrongs,| those bit|ter in|juries,
             ,     ,          ,        ,        ,
      Which^Som|erset | hath of|fered to | my house,
          ,      ,               ,      ,        ,
      I doubt | not, but | with hon|or to | redress.
            ,          ,     ,           ,      ,
      And there|fore haste | I to | the parl|iament,
       ,           ,       ,      ,        ,
      Either | to be | restor|ed to | my blood,
           ,        ,       2   ,        ,        ,
      Or make | my ill | the advant|age of | my good.

[Exit]

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