The army of the Queen mean to
besiege us.
SIR JOHN. She shall not need; we'll meet her in the field.
YORK. What, with five thousand men?
RICHARD. Ay, with five hundred, father, for a need.
A woman's general; what should we fear?
[A march afar off]
EDWARD. I hear their drums. Let's set our men in order,
And issue forth and bid them battle straight.
YORK. Five men to twenty! Though the odds be great,
I doubt not, uncle, of our victory.
Many a battle have I won in France,
When as the enemy hath been ten to one;
Why should I not now have the like success? Exeunt
SCENE III.
Field of battle between Sandal Castle and Wakefield
Alarum. Enter RUTLAND and his TUTOR
RUTLAND. Ah, whither shall I fly to scape their hands?
Ah, tutor, look where
bloody Clifford comes!
Enter CLIFFORD and soldiers
CLIFFORD. Chaplain, away! Thy priesthood saves thy life.
As for the brat of this
accursed duke,
Whose father slew my father, he shall die.
TUTOR. And I, my lord, will bear him company.
CLIFFORD. Soldiers, away with him!
TUTOR. Ah, Clifford, murder not this
innocent child,
Lest thou be hated both of God and man.
Exit, forced off by soldiers
CLIFFORD. How now, is he dead already? Or is it fear
That makes him close his eyes? I'll open them.
RUTLAND. So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch
That trembles under his devouring paws;
And so he walks, insulting o'er his prey,
And so he comes, to rend his limbs asunder.
Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword,
And not with such a cruel threat'ning look!
Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die.
I am too mean a subject for thy wrath;
Be thou reveng'd on men, and let me live.
CLIFFORD. In vain thou speak'st, poor boy; my father's blood
Hath stopp'd the passage where thy words should enter.
RUTLAND. Then let my father's blood open it again:
He is a man, and, Clifford, cope with him.
CLIFFORD. Had I thy brethren here, their lives and thine
Were not
revenge sufficient for me;
No, if I digg'd up thy forefathers' graves
And hung their
rotten coffins up in chains,
It could not slake mine ire nor ease my heart.
The sight of any of the house of York
Is as a fury to
torment my soul;
And till I root out their
accursed line
And leave not one alive, I live in hell.
Therefore-
RUTLAND. O, let me pray before I take my death!
To thee I pray: sweet Clifford, pity me.
CLIFFORD. Such pity as my rapier's point affords.
RUTLAND. I never did thee harm; why wilt thou slay me?
CLIFFORD. Thy father hath.
RUTLAND. But 'twas ere I was born.
Thou hast one son; for his sake pity me,
Lest in
revenge thereof, sith God is just,
He be as
miserably slain as I.
Ah, let me live in prison all my days;
And when I give occasion of offence
Then let me die, for now thou hast no cause.
CLIFFORD. No cause!
Thy father slew my father;
therefore, die. [Stabs him]
RUTLAND. Di faciant laudis summa sit ista tuae! [Dies]
CLIFFORD. Plantagenet, I come, Plantagenet;
And this thy son's blood cleaving to my blade
Shall rust upon my
weapon, till thy blood,
Congeal'd with this, do make me wipe off both. Exit
SCENE IV.
Another part of the field
Alarum. Enter the DUKE OF YORK
YORK. The army of the Queen hath got the field.
My uncles both are slain in rescuing me;
And all my followers to the eager foe
Turn back and fly, like ships before the wind,
Or lambs pursu'd by hunger-starved wolves.
My sons- God knows what hath bechanced them;
But this I know- they have demean'd themselves
Like men born to
renown by life or death.
Three times did Richard make a lane to me,
And
thrice cried 'Courage, father! fight it out.'
And full as oft came Edward to my side
With
purple falchion, painted to the hilt
In blood of those that had encount'red him.
And when the hardiest warriors did retire,
Richard cried 'Charge, and give no foot of ground!'
And cried 'A crown, or else a
glorious tomb!
A sceptre, or an
earthly sepulchre!'
With this we charg'd again; but out alas!
We bodg'd again; as I have seen a swan
With bootless labour swim against the tide
And spend her strength with over-matching waves.
[A short alarum within]
Ah, hark! The fatal followers do pursue,
And I am faint and cannot fly their fury;
And were I strong, I would not shun their fury.
The sands are numb'red that make up my life;
Here must I stay, and here my life must end.
Enter QUEEN MARGARET, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND,
the PRINCE OF WALES, and soldiers
Come,
bloody Clifford, rough Northumberland,
I dare your quenchless fury to more rage;
I am your butt, and I abide your shot.
NORTHUMBERLAND. Yield to our mercy, proud Plantagenet.
CLIFFORD. Ay, to such mercy as his
ruthless arm
With
downrightpayment show'd unto my father.
Now Phaethon hath tumbled from his car,
And made an evening at the
noontide prick.
YORK. My ashes, as the phoenix, may bring forth
A bird that will
revenge upon you all;
And in that hope I throw mine eyes to heaven,
Scorning whate'er you can
afflict me with.
Why come you not? What! multitudes, and fear?
CLIFFORD. So cowards fight when they can fly no further;
So doves do peck the falcon's
piercing talons;
So
desperatethieves, all
hopeless of their lives,
Breathe out invectives 'gainst the officers.
YORK. O Clifford, but
bethink thee once again,
And in thy thought o'errun my former time;
And, if thou canst for blushing, view this face,
And bite thy tongue that slanders him with cowardice
Whose frown hath made thee faint and fly ere this!
CLIFFORD. I will not bandy with thee word for word,
But buckler with thee blows, twice two for one.
QUEEN MARGARET. Hold,
valiant Clifford; for a thousand causes
I would
prolongawhile the traitor's life.
Wrath makes him deaf; speak thou, Northumberland.
NORTHUMBERLAND. Hold, Clifford! do not honour him so much
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart.
What
valour were it, when a cur doth grin,
For one to
thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away?
It is war's prize to take all vantages;
And ten to one is no
impeach of
valour.
[They lay hands on YORK, who struggles]
CLIFFORD. Ay, ay, so strives the woodcock with the gin.
NORTHUMBERLAND. So doth the cony struggle in the net.
YORK. So
triumphthieves upon their conquer'd booty;
So true men yield, with robbers so o'er-match'd.
NORTHUMBERLAND. What would your Grace have done unto him now?
QUEEN MARGARET. Brave warriors, Clifford and Northumberland,
Come, make him stand upon this molehill here
That raught at mountains with
outstretched arms,
Yet parted but the shadow with his hand.
What, was it you that would be England's king?
Was't you that revell'd in our parliament
And made a preachment of your high descent?
Where are your mess of sons to back you now?
The
wanton Edward and the lusty George?
And where's that
valiant crook-back prodigy,
Dicky your boy, that with his grumbling voice
Was wont to cheer his dad in mutinies?
Or, with the rest, where is your
darling Rutland?
Look, York: I stain'd this
napkin with the blood
That
valiant Clifford with his rapier's point
Made issue from the bosom of the boy;
And if thine eyes can water for his death,
I give thee this to dry thy cheeks withal.
Alas, poor York! but that I hate thee deadly,
I should
lament thy
miserable state.
I prithee
grieve to make me merry, York.
What, hath thy fiery heart so parch'd thine entrails
That not a tear can fall for Rutland's death?
Why art thou patient, man? Thou shouldst be mad;
And I to make thee mad do mock thee thus.
Stamp, rave, and fret, that I may sing and dance.
Thou wouldst be fee'd, I see, to make me sport;
York cannot speak unless he wear a crown.
A crown for York!-and, lords, bow low to him.
Hold you his hands
whilst I do set it on.
[Putting a paper crown on his head]
Ay, marry, sir, now looks he like a king!
Ay, this is he that took King Henry's chair,
And this is he was his adopted heir.
But how is it that great Plantagenet
Is crown'd so soon and broke his
solemn oath?
As I
bethink me, you should not be King
Till our King Henry had shook hands with death.
And will you pale your head in Henry's glory,
And rob his temples of the diadem,
Now in his life, against your holy oath?
O, 'tis a fault too too
Off with the crown and with the crown his head;
And,
whilst we breathe, take time to do him dead.
CLIFFORD. That is my office, for my father's sake.
QUEEN MARGARET. Nay, stay; let's hear the orisons he makes.
YORK. She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's tooth!
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex
To
triumph like an Amazonian trull
Upon their woes whom fortune captivates!
But that thy face is visard-like, unchanging,
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee
whence thou cam'st, of whom deriv'd,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou not shameless.
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,