As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox,
Or wolf, or both, (for he is equal ravenous,
As he is subtle ; and as prone to mischief,
As able to perform it: his mind and place
Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally,)
Only to show his pomp as well in France
As here at home, suggests the king our master
To this last costly treaty, the interview,
That swallow'd so much treasure, and like a glass
Did break i’the rinsing.
Nor. 'Faith, and so it did.
Buck. Pray, give me favour, sir. This cunning car-
dinal
The articles o' the combination drew,
As himself pleas'd ; and they were ratified,
As he cried, Thus let be: to as much end,
As give a crutch to the dead : But our count-cardinal
Has done this, and 'tis well ; for worthy Wolsey,
Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows,
(Wbich, as I take it, is a kind of puppy,
To the old dam, treason,)-Charles the emperor,
Under pretence to see the queen his aunt,
(For 'twas, indeed, his colour; but he came
To whisper Wolsey,) here makes visitation :
His fears were, that the interview betwixt
England and France might, through their amity,
Breed him some prejudice; for from this league
Peep'd harms, that menac'd him : He privily
Deals with our cardinal; and, as I trow,-
Which I do well; for, I am sure, the emperor
Paid ere he promis’d; whereby bis suit was granted,
Ere it was ask'd ;-but when the way was made,
And pav'd with gold, the emperor thus desir’d ;-
That he would please to alter the king's course,
And break the foresaid peace. Let the king know,
(As soon he shall by me,) that thus the cardinal
Does buy and sell his honour as he pleases,
And for his own advantage.
Nor. I am sorry
To hear this of him; and could wish, he were
Something mistaken in't.
Buck. No, not a syllable ;
I do pronounce him in that very shape,
He shall appear in proof.
Enter BRANDON; a Sergeant at Arms before him, and
two or three of the Guard. Bran. Your office, sergeant; execute it.
Serg. Sir,
My lord the duke of Buckingham, and earl
Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I
Arrest thee of high treason, in the name
Of our most sovereign king.
Buck. Lo you, my lord,
The net has fall’n upon me; I shall perish
Under device and practice.
Bran. I am sorry
To see you ta'en from liberty, to look on
The business present: 'Tis his highness' pleasure,
You shall to the Tower.
Buck. It will help me nothing,
To plead mine innocence; for that die is on me,
Which makes my whitest part black. The will of heaven
Be done in this and all things !-I obey.---
O my lord Aberga'ny, fare you
well. Bran. Nay, he must bear you company :-The king
[To ABERGAVENNY. Is pleas'd, you shall to the Tower, till you know How he determines further.
Aber. As the duke said, The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure By me obey'd.
Bran. Here is a warrant from
The king, to attach lord Montacute; and the bodies
Of the duke's confessor, John de la Court,
One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor,
Buck. So, so;
These are the limbs of the plot: No more, I hope.
Bran. A monk o' the Chartreux.
Buck. O, Nicholas Hopkins ?
Bran. He.
Buck. My surveyor is false; the o'er-great cardinal
Hath show'd him gold : my life is spann'd already:
I am the shadow of poor Buckingham;
Whose figure even this instant cloud puts on,
By dark’ning my clear sun.—My lord, farewell.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II.-The Council-Chamber.
Cornets. Enter King Henry, Cardinal Wolsey, the
Lords of the Council, Sir Thomas. Lovell, Officers, and Attendants. The King enters leaning on the Cardinal's shoulder.
K. Hen. My life itself, and the best heart of it, Thanks you for this great care: I stood i' the level
Of a full-charg'd confederacy, and give thanks
To you, that chok'd it.-Let be call'd before us
*That gentleman of Buckingham's: in person
I'll hear him his confessions justify;
And point by point the treasons of his master
He shall again relate.
The King takes his State. The Lords of the Council take
their several Places. The Cardinal places himself un-
der the King's Feet, on his right Side. 4 Noise within, crying, Room for the Queen. Enter the
Queen, ushered by the Dukes of Norfolk and SufFOLK: she kneels. The King riseth from his State, takes her up, kisses, and placeth her by him. Q. Kath. Nay, we must longer kneel; I am a suitor. K. Hen. Arise, and take place by us :-Half your suit Never name to us ; you have half
power : The other moiety, ere you ask, is giv'n; Repeat your will, and take it.
Q. Kath. Thank your majesty.
That you would love yourself; and, in that love,
Not unconsider'd leave your honour, nor
The dignity of
Of my petition.
K. Hen. Lady mine, proceed.
Q. Kath. I am solicited, not by a few, And those of true condition, that your subjects Are in great grievance: there have been commissions Sent down among them, which have flaw'd the heart Of all their loyalties :—wherein, although, My good lord cardinal, they vent reproaches
Most bitterly on you, as putter-on Of these exactions, yet the king our master, (Whose honour heaven shield from soil !) even he es
Language unmannerly, yea, such which breaks
The sides of loyalty, and almost appears
In loud rebellion.
Nor. Not almost appears,
It doth appear : for, upon these taxations,
The clothiers all, not able to maintain
The many to them 'longing, have put off
The spinsters, carders, fullers, weayers, who,
Unfit for other life, compell’d by hunger
And lack of other means, in desperate manner
Daring the event to the teeth, are all in uproar,
And Danger serves among them.
K. Hen. Taxation !
Wherein ? and what taxation ?- My lord cardinal,
You, that are blam’d for it alike with us,
Know you of this taxation?
Wol. Please you, sir,
I know but of a single part, in aught
Pertains to the state; and front but in that file,
Where others tell steps with me.
Q. Kath. No, my lord,
You know no more than others : but you frame
Things, that are known alike; which are not whole-
To those which would not know them, and yet must Perforce be their acquaintance. These exactions, Whereof my sovereign would have note, they are Most pestilent to the hearing; and, to bear them,
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