King John & Henry VIII (45 page)

    Will make my boldness manners.—
Now
¹⁸⁶
good angels

    Fly o’er thy royal head, and shade thy person

    Under their blessèd wings.

KING HENRY VIII
    Now by thy looks

    I guess thy message.
Is the queen delivered
¹⁹⁰
?

    Say, ‘Ay, and of a boy.’

OLD LADY
    Ay, ay, my liege,

    And of a lovely boy: the God of heaven

    Both now and ever bless her. ’Tis a
girl
¹⁹⁴

    
Promises
¹⁹⁵
boys hereafter. Sir, your queen

    Desires your visitation,
and
¹⁹⁶
to be

    Acquainted with this stranger: ’tis as like you

    As cherry is to cherry.

KING HENRY VIII
    Lovell.

LOVELL
    Sir?

KING HENRY VIII
    Give her an hundred
marks
²⁰¹
. I’ll to the queen.

OLD LADY
    An hundred marks? By this light, I’ll ha’ more.

    An ordinary
groom
is
for
²⁰³
such payment.

    I will have more, or scold it out of him.

    Said I for this, the girl was like to him? I’ll

    Have more, or else unsay’t: and now, while ’tis
hot
²⁰⁶
,

    I’ll
put it to the issue
²⁰⁷
.

CRANMER
    I hope I am not too late, and yet the gentleman

    That was sent to me from the council prayed me

    To make great haste. All
fast
³
? What means this? Ho!

    Who waits there?

                   
Sure
⁴
you know me?

KEEPER
    Yes, my lord,

    But yet I cannot help you.

CRANMER
    Why?

KEEPER
    Your grace must wait till you be called for.

CRANMER
    
So
⁹
.

DOCTOR BUTTS
    This is a piece of malice. I am glad

    I came this way so
happily
¹¹
. The king

    Shall
understand it presently
¹²
.

CRANMER
    ’Tis Butts,

    The king’s physician: as he passed along

    How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me:

    Pray heaven he
sound
¹⁶
not my disgrace: for certain

    This is of purpose
laid
¹⁷
by some that hate me —

    God
turn
¹⁸
their hearts, I never sought their malice —

    To quench mine honour: they would shame to make me

    Wait else at door, a fellow councillor,

    ’Mong boys, grooms, and lackeys. But their pleasures

    Must be fulfilled, and I
attend
²²
with patience.

DOCTOR BUTTS
    I’ll show your grace the strangest sight—

KING HENRY VIII
    What’s that, Butts?

DOCTOR BUTTS
    I think your highness saw this many a day.

KING HENRY VIII
    
Body o’me
²⁶
, where is it?

DOCTOR BUTTS
    There, my lord:

    The high promotion of his grace of Canterbury,

    
Who holds his state
at door, ’mongst
pursuivants
²⁹
,

    Pages, and
footboys
³⁰
.

KING HENRY VIII
    Ha? ’Tis he, indeed.

    Is this the honour they do one another?

    ’Tis well there’s
one above ’em
³³
yet: I had thought

    They had
parted
so much
honesty
³⁴
among ’em —

    At least good manners — as not thus to
suffer
³⁵

    A man of his
place
³⁶
, and so near our favour,

    To
dance attendance
³⁷
on their lordships’ pleasures —

    And at the door, too, like a
post
with
packets
³⁸
.

    By holy Mary, Butts, there’s knavery:

    Let ’em alone, and draw the curtain
close
⁴⁰
:

    We shall hear more anon.

CHANCELLOR
    Speak to the business, master secretary:

    Why are we met in council?

CROMWELL
    Please your honours,

    The chief cause concerns his grace of Canterbury.

GARDINER
    Has he had knowledge of it?

CROMWELL
    Yes.

NORFOLK
    Who waits there?

KEEPER
    
Without
⁴⁹
, my noble lords?

GARDINER
    Yes.

KEEPER
    My lord archbishop:

    And has done half an hour to know your pleasures.

CHANCELLOR
    Let him come in.

KEEPER
    Your grace may enter now.

CHANCELLOR
    My good lord archbishop, I’m very sorry

    To sit here at this
present
⁵⁶
, and behold

    That
chair
⁵⁷
stand empty: but we all are men,

    In our own natures frail, and
capable
⁵⁸

    Of our
flesh
⁵⁹
: few are angels: out of which frailty

    And
want
⁶⁰
of wisdom, you that best should teach us,

    Have
misdemeaned yourself
⁶¹
, and not a little:

    Toward the king first, then his laws, in filling

    The whole realm, by your teaching and your chaplains

    For so we are informed — with new opinions,

    
Divers
and dangerous, which are
heresies
⁶⁵
,

    And, not reformed, may prove
pernicious
⁶⁶
.

GARDINER
    Which reformation must be sudden too,

    My noble lords, for those that tame wild horses

    
Pace ’em not in their hands
⁶⁹
to make ’em gentle,

    But stop their mouths with
stubborn
⁷⁰
bits and spur ’em

    Till they
obey the manage
. If we
suffer
⁷¹
,

    Out of our
easiness
⁷²
and childish pity

    To one man’s honour, this contagious sickness,

    Farewell all
physic
⁷⁴
: and what follows then?

    Commotions, uproars, with a general
taint
⁷⁵

    Of the whole state, as of late days our neighbours,

    The
upper
Germany, can dearly witness
⁷⁷
,

    Yet freshly pitied in our memories.

CRANMER
    My good lords, hitherto, in all the progress

    Both of my life and office, I have laboured,

    
And with no little study, that my teaching

    And the strong
course
⁸²
of my authority

    Might go one way, and safely: and the end

    Was ever to do well: nor is there living —

    I speak it with a
single
⁸⁵
heart, my lords —

    A man that more detests, more stirs against,

    Both in his private conscience and his
place
⁸⁷
,

    Defacers of a public peace than I do:

    Pray heaven the king may never find a heart

    With less allegiance in it. Men that make

    Envy and crooked malice nourishment

    Dare bite the best. I do beseech your lordships

    That in this case of justice, my accusers,

    Be what they will, may stand forth face to face,

    And freely
urge
⁹⁵
against me.

SUFFOLK
    Nay, my lord,

    That cannot be: you are a councillor,

    And
by that virtue
⁹⁸
no man dare accuse you.

GARDINER
    My lord, because we have business of more
moment
⁹⁹
,

    We will be
short
¹⁰⁰
with you. ’Tis his highness’ pleasure

    And our consent, for better trial of you,

    From hence you be committed to the Tower,

    Where being but a
private
¹⁰³
man again,

    You shall know many dare accuse you boldly,

    More than, I fear, you are
provided
¹⁰⁵
for.

CRANMER
    Ah, my good lord of Winchester, I thank you:

    You are always my good friend: if your will
pass
¹⁰⁷
,

    I shall both find your lordship judge and juror,

    You are so merciful. I see your
end
¹⁰⁹
:

    ’Tis my undoing. Love and meekness, lord,

    
Become
¹¹¹
a churchman better than ambition:

    Win straying souls with modesty again:

    
Cast none away. That I shall clear myself,

    Lay all the weight ye can upon my patience,

    I make as little
doubt
as you do
conscience
¹¹⁵

    In doing daily wrongs. I could say more,

    But reverence to your calling makes me modest.

GARDINER
    My lord, my lord, you are a
sectary
¹¹⁸
,

    That’s the plain truth: your
painted
gloss
discovers
¹¹⁹

    To men that understand you,
words
¹²⁰
and weakness.

CROMWELL
    My lord of Winchester, you’re a little,

    
By your good favour
¹²²
, too sharp: men so noble,

    However faulty, yet should find respect

    For what they have been: ’tis a cruelty

    To load a falling man.

GARDINER
    Good Master Secretary,

    I
cry your honour mercy
: you may
worst
¹²⁷

    Of all this table say so.

CROMWELL
    Why, my lord?

GARDINER
    Do not I know you for a favourer

    Of this new sect? Ye are not
sound
¹³¹
.

CROMWELL
    Not sound?

GARDINER
    Not sound, I say.

CROMWELL
    Would you were half so honest:

    Men’s prayers then would seek you, not their fears.

GARDINER
    I shall remember this
bold
¹³⁶
language.

CROMWELL
    Do.

    Remember your bold life, too.

CHANCELLOR
    This is too much:

    
Forbear
¹⁴⁰
for shame, my lords.

GARDINER
    I have done.

CROMWELL
    And I.