To morrow morning to the council-board He be convented.4 He's a rank weed, sir Thomas, [Exeunt GARDINER, and Page. K. Hen. But little, Charles; Nor shall not, when my fancy's on my play.- K. Hen. What say'st thou ? ha! To pray for her! what, is she crying out? Lov. So said her woman; and that her sufferance made Almost each pang a death. K. Hen. Alas, good lady! Suf. God safely quit her of her burden, and With gentle travail, to the gladding of Your highness with an heir! K. Hen. 'Tis midnight, Charles, Pr'ythee, to bed; and in thy prayers remember Will not be friendly to. Suf. I wish your highness A quiet night, and my good mistress will Remember in my prayers. K. Hen. Charles, good night. [Exit SUFFOLK. Enter Sir ANTHONY DENNY. Well, sir, what follows? Den. Sir, I have brought my lord the archbishop, As you commanded me. K. Hen. Ha! Canterbury? Den. Ay, my good lord. K. Hen. 'Tis true: Where is he, Denny? Den. He attends your highness' pleasure. [3] Convented is summoned, convened. STEEV, K. Hen. Bring him to us. [Exit DENNY. [Aside. Lov. This is about that which the bishop spake ; I am happily come hither. Re-enter DENNY, with CRANMER. K.Hen. Avoid the gallery. [LOVELL seems to stay. Ha-I have said.-Be gone. What! [Exeunt LOVELL and DENNY. Cran. I am fearful-Wherefore frowns he thus ? 'Tis his aspect of terror. All's not well. K.Hen. How now, my lord? You do desire to know Wherefore I sent for you. Cran. It is my duty, To attend your highness' pleasure. K. Hen. 'Pray you, arise, My good and gracious lord of Canterbury. Come, you and I must walk a turn together; I have news to tell you: Come, come, give me your hand. Grievous complaints of you; which, being consider'd, To make your house our Tower: You a brother of us, Would come against you. Cran. I humbly thank your highness; And am right glad to catch this good occasion Most throughly to be winnow'd, where my chaff And corn shall fly asunder: for, I know, There's none stands under more calumnious tongues, Than I myself, poor man. K.Hen. Stand up, good Canterbury; Thy truth, and thy integrity, is rooted In us, thy friend: Give me thy hand, stand up; [5] You being one of the council, it is necessary to imprison you, that the witnesses against you may not be deterred. JOHNS. You would have given me your petition, that I should have ta'en some pains to bring together Cran. Most dread liege, The good I stand on7 is my truth, and honesty ; Will triumph o'er my person; which I weigh not, What can be said against me. K.Hen. Know you not how Your state stands i'the world, with the whole world? Are many, and not small; their practices Must bear the same proportion and not ever Cran. God, and your majesty, Protect mine innocence, or I fall into K. Hen. Be of good cheer; They shall no more prevail, than we give way to. You do appear before them; if they shall chance, Fail not to use, and with what vehemency Deliver them, and your appeal to us There make before them.-Look, the good man weeps! [6] Indurance, that is confinement. JOHNS. [7] Though good may be taken for advantage or superiority, or any thing which may help or support, yet it would, I think, be more natural to say: The ground I stand on [8] To ween is to think, to imagine. common to all our ancient writers. JOHNS. He's honest, on mine honour. God's blest mother! I swear, he is true-hearted; and a soul None better in my kingdom.-Get you gone, And do as I have bid you. He has strangled His language in his tears. [Exit CRANMER. Enter an old Lady. Gent. [Within.] Come back; What mean you? Lady. I'll not come back; the tidings that I bring Will make my boldness manners.-Now, good angels Fly o'er thy royal head, and shade thy person Under their blessed wings! K. Hen. Now, by thy looks I guess thy message. Is the queen deliver'd ? Lady. Ay, ay, my liege; And of a lovely boy: The God of heaven Acquainted with this stranger; 'tis as like you, K.Hen. Lovell, Lov. Sir. Enter LovELL. K.Hen. Give her an hundred marks. I'll to the queen. [Exit King. Lady. An hundred marks! By this light, I'll have more. An ordinary groom is for such payment. SCENE II. [Exeunt. Lobby before the Council-chamber. Enter CRANMER; Servants, Door-keeper, c. attending. Cran. I hope, I am not too late; and yet the gentleman, That was sent to me from the council, pray'd me To make great haste. All fast? what means this?-Hoa! Who waits there ?-Sure, you know me? D. Keep. Yes, my lord ; But yet I cannot help you. Cran. Why? D. Keep. Your grace must wait, till you be call'd for. Enter Doctor BUTTS. Cran. So. Butts. This is a piece of malice. I am glad, I came this way so happily: The king Cran. [Aside.] 'Tis Butts, The king's physician; As he past along, [Exit BUTTS. Pray heaven, he sound not my disgrace! For certain, This is of purpose lay'd, by some that hate me, (God turn their hearts' I never sought their malice,) To quench mine honour: they would shame to make me Wait else at door; a fellow counsellor, Among boys, grooms, and lackeys. But their pleasures Must be fulfill'd, and I attend with patience. Enter, at a window above, the King and BUTTS.9 Butts. I'll show your grace the strangest sight,K.Hen. What's that, Butts ? Butts. I think, your highness saw this many a day. K.Hen. Body o'me, where is it? Butts. There, my lord: The high promotion of his grace of Canterbury; K.Hen. Ha! 'Tis he, indeed: Is this the honour they do one another? 'Tis well, there's one above them yet. I had thought, They had parted so much honesty among them, (At least, good manners,) as not thus to suffer A man of his place, and so near our favour, To dance attendance on their lordships' pleasures, Let them alone, and draw the curtain close ; THE COUNCIL-CHAMBER. [Exeunt Enter the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of SUFFOLK, Earl of SURREY, Lord Chamberlain, GARDINER, and CROMWELL. The [9] The suspicious vigilance of our ancestors contrived windows which overlooked the insides of chapels, halls, kicchens, passages, &c. Some of these convenient pe-p-holes may stil: be found in colleges, and such ancient houses as have not suffered from the reformations of modern architecture. Without a previous knowledge of this custom, Shakspeare's scenery, in the present instance, would be obscure. STEEV. |