Classic Poem

SCENE ONE

Enter the KING OF NAVARRE , reading a letter, and BARTUS . NAVARRE :

My lord, I am advertised from France
That the Guise hath taken arms against the king,
And that Paris is revolted from his grace. BARTUS :
Then hath your grace fit opportunity
To show your love unto the king of France,
Offering him aid against his enemies,
Which cannot but be thankfully receiv'd. NAVARRE :
Bartus, it shall be so. Post then to France,
And there salute his highness in our name;
Assure him all the aid we can provide
Against the Guisians and their complices.
Bartus, be gone: commend me to his grace,
And tell him, ere it be long, I'll visit him. BARTUS :
I will, my lord.
Exit . NAVARRE :
Pleshe!
Enter PLESHÉ . PLESHÉ :
My lord! NAVARRE :
Pleshe, go muster up our men with speed,
And let them march away to France amain,
For we must aid the king against the Guise,
Be gone, I say; 'tis time that we were there. PLESHÉ :
I go, my lord.
Exit . NAVARRE :
That wicked Guise, I fear me much will be
The ruin of that famous realm of France,
For his aspiring thoughts aim at the crown,
And takes his vantage on religion,
To plant the Pope and Popelings in the realm,
And bind it wholly to the see of Rome.
But, if that God do prosper mine attempts,
And send us safely to arrive in France,
We'll beat him back, and drive him to his death
That basely seeks the ruin of his realm.
Exit .

SCENE TWO

Enter the CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD , and three MURDERERS . CAPTAIN :
Come on, sirs. What, are you resolutely bent,
Hating the life and honour of the Guise?
What, will you not fear, when you see him come? FIRST MURDERER :
Fear him, said you? Tush, were he here, we would kill him presently. SECOND MURDERER :
O, that his heart were leaping in my hand! THIRD MURDERER :
But when will he come, that we may murder him? CAPTAIN :
Well, then, I see you are resolute. FIRST MURDERER :
Let us alone; I warrant you. CAPTAIN :
Then, sirs, take your standings within this chamber;
For anon the Guise will come. ALL THREE MURDERERS :
You will give us our money? CAPTAIN :
Ay, ay, fear not. Stand close: so; be resolute.
Exeunt MURDERERS .
Now falls the star whose influence governs France,
Whose light was deadly to the Protestants:
Now must he fall, and perish in his height.
Enter KING HENRY and EPERNOUN . HENRY :
Now, captain of my guard, are these murderers ready? CAPTAIN :
They be, my good lord. HENRY :
But are they resolute, and arm'd to kill,
Hating the life and honour of the Guise? CAPTAIN :
I warrant ye, my lord.
Exit . HENRY :
Then come, proud Guise, and here disgorge thy breast,
Surcharg'd with surfeit of ambitious thoughts.
Breathe out that life wherein my death was hid,
And end thy endless treasons with thy death.
Enter the GUISE and knocketh . GUISE :
Hola, varlet, be! Epernoun, where is the king? EPERNOUN :
Mounted his royal cabinet. GUISE :
I prithee, tell him that the Guise is here. EPERNOUN :
An please your grace, the Duke of Guise doth crave
Access unto your highness. HENRY :
Let him come in.
Come, Guise, and see thy traitorous guile outreach'd,
And perish in the pit thou mad'st for me.
The GUISE comes to the KING . GUISE :
Good morrow to your majesty. HENRY :
Good morrow to my loving cousin of Guise.
How fares it this morning with your excellence? GUISE :
I heard your majesty was scarcely pleas'd,
That in the court I bare so great a train. HENRY :
They were to blame that said I was displeas'd;
And you, good cousin, to imagine it.
'Twere hard with me, if I should doubt my kin,
Or be suspicious of my dearest friends.
Cousin, assure you I am resolute,
Whatsoever any whisper in mine ears,
Not to suspect disloyalty in thee:
And so, sweet coz, farewell.
Exit with EPERNOUN . GUISE :
So;
Now sues the king for favour to the Guise,
And all his minions stoop when I command.
Why, this 'tis to have an army in the field.
Now, by the holy sacrament, I swear,
As ancient Romans o'er their captive lords,
So will I triumph o'er this wanton king;
And he shall follow my proud chariot's wheels.
Now do I but begin to look about,
And all my former time was spent in vain.
Hold, sword,
For in thee is the Duke of Guise's hope.
Re-enter THIRD MURDERER .
Villain, why dost thou look so ghastly? Speak. THIRD MURDERER :
O, pardon me, my Lord of Guise! GUISE :
Pardon thee! Why, what hast thou done? THIRD MURDERER :
O my lord, I am one of them that is set to murder you! GUISE :
To murder me, villain? THIRD MURDERER :
Ay, my lord: the rest have ta'en their standings in the next room; therefore, good my lord, go not forth. GUISE :
Yet Caesar shall go forth.
Let mean conceits and baser men fear death:
Tut, they are peasants. I am Duke of Guise;
And princes with their looks engender fear. FIRST MURDERER ( within ):
Stand close; he is coming;
I know him by his voice. GUISE :
As pale as ashes! Nay, then, 'tis time
To look about.
Enter FIRST and SECOND MURDERERS . FIRST AND SECOND MURDERERS :
Down with him, down with him!
They stab GUISE . GUISE :
O, I have my death's wound! Give me leave to speak. SECOND MURDERER :
Then pray to God, and ask forgiveness of the king. GUISE :
Trouble me not. I ne'er offended him,
Nor will I ask forgiveness of the king.
O, that I have not power to stay my life,
Nor immortality to be reveng'd!
To die by peasants, what a grief is this!
Ah, Sixtus, be reveng'd upon the king!
Philip and Parma, I am slain for you!
Pope, excommunicate! Philip depose,
The wicked branch of curs'd Valois his line!
Vive la messe! perish Huguenots!
Thus Caesar did go forth, and thus he died.
Dies .
Enter the CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD . CAPTAIN :
What, have you done?
Then stay a while, and I'll go call the king.
But see, where he comes.
Enter KING HENRY , EPERNOUN , and ATTENDANTS .
My lord, see, where the Guise is slain. HENRY :
Ah, this sweet sight is physic to my soul!
Go fetch his son for to behold his death.
Exit an ATTENDANT .
Surcharg'd with guilt of thousand massacres,
Monsieur of Lorraine, sink away to hell!
And, in remembrance of those bloody broils,
To which thou didst allure me, being alive;
And here in presence of you all, I swear,
I ne'er was king of France until this hour.
This is the traitor that hath spent my gold
In making foreign wars and civil broils.
Did he not draw a sort of English priests
From Douai to the seminary at Rheims,
To hatch forth treason 'gainst their natural queen?
Did he not cause the king of Spain's huge fleet
To threaten England, and to menace me?
Did he not injure Monsieur that's deceas'd?
Hath he not made me, in the Pope's defence,
To spend the treasure, that should strength my land,
In civil broils between Navarre and me?
Tush, to be short, he meant to make me monk,
Or else to murder me, and so be king.
Let Christian princes, that shall hear of this,
(As all the world shall know our Guise is dead),
Rest satisfied with this: that here I swear,
Ne'er was there king of France so yok'd as I. EPERNOUN :
My lord, here is his son.
Enter GUISE'S SON . HENRY :
Boy, look, where your father lies. GUISE'S SON :
My father slain! Who hath done this deed? HENRY :
Sirrah, 'twas I that slew him; and will slay
Thee too, and thou prove such a traitor. GUISE'S SON :
Art thou king, and hast done this bloody deed?
I'll be reveng'd.
Offers to throw his dagger . HENRY :
Away to prison with him! I'll clip his wings
Or e'er he pass my hands. Away with him.
Some of the ATTENDANTS bear off GUISE'S SON .
But what availeth that this traitor's dead,
When Duke Dumaine, his brother, is alive,
And that young cardinal that is grown so proud?
To the CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD .
Go to the governor of Orleans,
And will him, in my name, to kill the duke.
To the MURDERERS .
Get you away, and strangle the cardinal.
Exeunt CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD and MURDERERS .
These two will make one entire Duke of Guise,
Especially with our old mother's help. EPERNOUN :
My lord, see where she comes, as if she droop'd
To hear these news. HENRY :
And let her droop; my heart is light enough.
Enter CATHERINE the Queen-Mother .
Mother, how like you this device of mine?
I slew the Guise, because I would be king. CATHERINE :
King! Why, so thou wert before:
Pray God thou be a king now this is done! HENRY :
Nay, he was king, and countermanded me:
But now I will be king, and rule myself,
And make the Guisians stoop that are alive. CATHERINE :
I cannot speak for grief. When thou wast born,
I would that I had murder'd thee, my son!
My son! Thou art a changeling, not my son;
I curse thee, and exclaim thee miscreant,
Traitor to God and to the realm of France! HENRY :
Cry out, exclaim, how! till thy throat be hoarse!
The Guise is slain, and I rejoice therefore:
And now will I to arms. Come, Epernoun,
And let her grieve her heart out, if she will.
Exit with EPERNOUN . CATHERINE :
Away! leave me alone to meditate.
Exeunt ATTENDANTS .
Sweet Guise, would he had died, so thou wert here!
To whom shall I bewray my secrets now,
Or who will help to build religion?
The Protestants will glory and insult;
Wicked Navarre will get the crown of France;
The Popedom cannot stand; all goes to wrack;
And all for thee, my Guise! What may I do?
But sorrow seize upon my toiling soul!
For, since the Guise is dead, I will not live.
Exit .

SCENE THREE

Enter two MURDERERS , dragging in the CARDINAL . CARDINAL :

Murder me not; I am a cardinal. FIRST MURDERER :
Wert thou the Pope, thou mightst not 'scape from us. CARDINAL :
What, will you file your hands with church-men's blood? SECOND MURDERER :
Shed your blood! O Lord, no! for we intend to strangle you. CARDINAL :
Then there is no remedy, but I must die? FIRST MURDERER :
No remedy; therefore prepare yourself. CARDINAL :
Yet lives my brother Duke Dumaine, and many more,
To revenge our death upon that cursed king,
Upon whose heart may all the Furies gripe,
And with their paws drench his black soul in hell! FIRST MURDERER :
Yours, my Lord Cardinal, you should have said.
Now they strangle him .
So, pluck amain.
He is hard-hearted; therefore pull with violence.
Come, take him away.
Exeunt with the body .

SCENE FOUR

Enter DUMAINE , reading a letter, with others . DUMAINE :

My noble brother murder'd by the king!
O, what may I do for to revenge thy death?
The king's alone, it cannot satisfy.
Sweet Duke of Guise, our prop to lean upon,
Now thou art dead, here is no stay for us.
I am thy brother, and I'll revenge thy death,
And root Valoys his line from forth of France,
And beat proud Bourbon to his native home,
That basely seeks to join with such a king,
Whose murderous thoughts will be his overthrow.
He will'd the governor of Orleans, in his name,
That I with speed should have been put to death;
But that's prevented, for to end his life,
And all those traitors to the Church of Rome
That durst attempt to murder noble Guise.
Enter FRIAR . FRIAR :
My lord, I come to bring you news that your brother the Cardinal of Lorraine, by the king's consent, is lately strangled unto death. DUMAINE :
My brother Cardinal slain, and I alive?
O words of power to kill a thousand men!
Come, let us away, and levy men;
'Tis war that must assuage this tyrant's pride. FRIAR :
My lord, hear me but speak.
I am a friar of the order of the Jacobins,
That for my conscience' sake will kill the king. DUMAINE :
But what doth move thee, above the rest, to do the deed? FRIAR :
O my lord, I have been a great sinner in my days, and the deed is meritorious. DUMAINE :
But how wilt thou get opportunity? FRIAR :
Tush, my lord, let me alone for that. DUMAINE :
Friar, come with me;
We will go talk more of this within.
Exeunt .

SCENE FIVE

Drums and trumpets . Enter KING HENRY , the KING OF NAVARRE , EPERNOUN , BARTUS , PLESHÉ , SOLDIERS , and ATTENDANTS . HENRY :
Brother of Navarre, I sorrow much
That ever I was prov'd your enemy,
And that the sweet and princely mind you bear
Was ever troubled with injurious wars.
I vow, as I am lawful King of France,
To recompense your reconciled love
With all the honours and affections
That ever I vouchsaf'd my dearest friends. NAVARRE :
It is enough if that Navarre may be
Esteemed faithful to the King of France,
Whose service he may still command till death. HENRY :
Thanks to my kingly brother of Navarre.
Then here we'll lie before Lutetia walls,
Girting this strumpet city with our siege,
Till, surfeiting with our afflicting arms,
She cast her hateful stomach to the earth.
Enter a MESSENGER . MESSENGER :
An it please your majesty, here is a friar of the order of the Jacobins, sent from the President of Paris, that craves access unto your grace. HENRY :
Let him come in.
Exit MESSENGER .
Enter FRIAR , with a letter . EPERNOUN :
I like not this friar's look:
'Twere not amiss, my lord, if he were search'd. HENRY :
Sweet Epernoun, our friars are holy men,
And will not offer violence to their king,
For all the wealth and treasure of the world.
Friar, thou dost acknowledge me thy king? FRIAR :
Ay, my good lord, and will die therein. HENRY :
Then come thou near, and tell what news thou bring'st. FRIAR :
My lord,
The President of Paris greets your grace
And sends his duty by these speedy lines,
Humbly craving your gracious reply.
Gives letter . HENRY :
I'll read them, friar, and then I'll answer thee. FRIAR :
Sancte Jacobe , now have mercy upon me!
Stabs the KING with a knife, as he reads the letter; and then the KING gets the knife, and kills him . EPERNOUN :
O, my lord, let him live a while! HENRY :
No let the villain die, and feel in hell
Just torments for his treachery. NAVARRE :
What, is your highness hurt? HENRY :
Yes, Navarre; but not to death, I hope. NAVARRE :
God shield your grace from such a sudden death!
Go call a surgeon hither straight.
Exit an ATTENDANT . HENRY :
What irreligious pagans' parts be these,
Of such as hold them of the holy church!
Take hence that damned villain from my sight.
ATTENDANTS carry out the FRIAR'S body . EPERNOUN :
Ah, had your highness let him live,
We might have punish'd him to his deserts! HENRY :
Sweet Epernoun, all rebels under heaven
Shall take example by his punishment,
How they bear arms against their sovereign.
Go call the English agent hither straight:
Exit an ATTENDANT .
I'll send my sister England news of this,
And give her warning of her treacherous foes.
Enter a SURGEON . NAVARRE :
Pleaseth your grace to let the surgeon search your wound? HENRY :
The wound, I warrant ye, is deep, my lord.
Search, surgeon, and resolve me what thou see'st.
The SURGEON searches the wound .
Enter the ENGLISH AGENT .
Agent for England, send thy mistress word
What this detested Jacobin hath done.
Tell her, for all this, that I hope to live;
Which if I do, the papal monarch goes
To wrack, and [th'] antichristian kingdom falls.
These bloody hands shall tear his triple crown,
And fire accursed Rome about his ears;
I'll fire his crazed buildings, and enforce
The papal towers to kiss the lowly earth.
Navarre, give me thy hand: I here do swear
To ruinate that wicked Church of Rome,
That hatcheth up such bloody practices;
And here protest eternal love to thee,
And to the Queen of England specially,
Whom God hath bless'd for hating papistry. NAVARRE :
These words revive my thoughts, and comforts me.
To see your highness in this virtuous mind. HENRY :
Tell me, surgeon, shall I live? SURGEON :
Alas, my lord, the wound is dangerous,
For you are stricken with a poison'd knife! HENRY :
A poison'd knife! What, shall the French king die,
Wounded and poison'd both at once? EPERNOUN :
O, that
That damned villain were alive again,
That we might torture him with some new-found death! BARTUS :
He died a death too good:
The devil of hell torture his wicked soul! HENRY :
Ah, curse him not, sith he is dead!
O, the fatal poison works within my breast!
Tell me, surgeon, and flatter not ÔÇô may I live? SURGEON :
Alas, my lord, your highness cannot live! NAVARRE :
Surgeon, why say'st thou so? The king may live. HENRY :
O, no, Navarre! Thou must be king of France! NAVARRE :
Long may you live, and still be King of France. EPERNOUN :
Or else die Epernoun! HENRY :
Sweet Epernoun, thy king must die. My lords,
Fight in the quarrel of this valiant prince,
For he's your lawful king, and my next heir;
Valoyses line ends in my tragedy.
Now let the house of Bourbon wear the crown;
And may it never end in blood, as mine hath done!
Weep not, sweet Navarre, but revenge my death.
Ah, Epernoun, is this thy love to me?
Henry, thy king, wipes off these childish tears,
And bids thee whet thy sword on Sixtus' bones,
That it may keenly slice the Catholics.
He loves me not that sheds most tears,
But he that makes most lavish of his blood.
Fire Paris, where these treacherous rebels lurk.
I die, Navarre; come bear me to my sepulchre.
Salute the Queen of England in my name,
And tell her, Henry dies her faithful friend.
Dies . NAVARRE :
Come, lords, take up the body of the king,
That we may see it honourably interr'd:
And then I vow for to revenge his death
As Rome, and all those popish prelates there,
Shall curse the time that e'er Navarre was king,
And rul'd in France by Henry's fatal death.
They march out, with the body of KING HENRY lying on four men's shoulders, with a dead march, drawing weapons on the ground .