Page 227 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1

For by my mother I derivèd am
From Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third son [75]
To King Edward the Third; whereas the king
From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree,
Being but fourth of that heroic line.
But mark: as in this haughty great attempt
They labourèd to plant the rightful heir, [80]
I lost my liberty, and they their lives.
Long after this, when Henry the Fifth
(Succeeding his father Bullingbrook) did reign,
Thy father, Earl of Cambridge then, derived
From famous Edmund Langley, Duke of York, [85]
Marrying my sister, that thy mother was,
Again, in pity of my hard distress,
Levied an army, weening to redeem
And have installed me in the diadem.
But, as the rest, so fell that noble earl [90]
And was beheaded. Thus the Mortimers,
In whom the title rested, were suppressed.

PLANT AGENET

Of which, my lord, your honour is the last.

MORT IMER

True; and thou seest that I no issue have,
And that my fainting words do warrant death. [95]
Thou art my heir; the rest I wish thee gather;
But yet be wary in thy studious care.

PLANT AGENET

Thy grave admonishments prevail with me.
But yet methinks my father’s execution
Was nothing less than bloody tyranny. [100]

MORT IMER

With silence, nephew, be thou politic;
Strong-fixèd is the house of Lancaster,
And like a mountain, not to be removed.
But now thy uncle is removing hence,
As princes do their courts when they are cloyed [105]