The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (306 page)

stomach the insult in this letter of the cardinal's?

Heaven forbid!

NORFOLK

Marry, amen!

Indeed, amen to that!

SUFFOLK

No, no;

There be moe wasps that buzz about his nose

Will make this sting the sooner. Cardinal Campeius

Is stol'n away to Rome; hath ta'en no leave;

Has left the cause o' the king unhandled; and

Is posted, as the agent of our cardinal,

To second all his plot. I do assure you

The king cried Ha! at this.

No, no;

there are other wasps buzzing around his nose

that will make him feel this sting earlier. Cardinal Campeius

has sneaked away to Rome; he said no goodbyes;

he has left the King’s business undealt with; and

is seen as the agent of our cardinal,

who is his associate in this plot. I can assure you

the King was properly suspicious.

Chamberlain

Now, God incense him,

And let him cry Ha! louder!

Now, may God anger him,

and make him even more suspicious!

NORFOLK

But, my lord,

When returns Cranmer?

But, my lord,

when is Cranmer coming back?

SUFFOLK

He is return'd in his opinions; which

Have satisfied the king for his divorce,

Together with all famous colleges

Almost in Christendom: shortly, I believe,

His second marriage shall be publish'd, and

Her coronation. Katharine no more

Shall be call'd queen, but princess dowager

And widow to Prince Arthur.

He has sent back his advice; which

told the king his divorce was legitimate,

along with almost all the most famous

universities in Christendom: I believe that shortly

his second marriage shall be announced, and

her coronation. Katherine will no longer

be called Queen, but Princess Dowager

and widow of Prince Arthur.

NORFOLK

This same Cranmer's

A worthy fellow, and hath ta'en much pain

In the king's business.

This Cranmer

is a worthy fellow, and has taken much trouble

over the King's business.

SUFFOLK

He has; and we shall see him

For it an archbishop.

He has; and we shall see him

made an Archbishop for it.

NORFOLK

So I hear.

That's what I hear.

SUFFOLK

'Tis so.

The cardinal!

It's true.

Here's the cardinal!

Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY and CROMWELL

NORFOLK

Observe, observe, he's moody.

Look, look, he's moody.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

The packet, Cromwell.

Gave't you the king?

Did you give that packet

to the King, Cromwell?

CROMWELL

To his own hand, in's bedchamber.

 Into his hands, in his bedroom.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Look'd he o' the inside of the paper?

Did he look inside the letter?

CROMWELL

Presently

He did unseal them: and the first he view'd,

He did it with a serious mind; a heed

Was in his countenance. You he bade

Attend him here this morning.

He unsealed them

at once: and as soon as he read it

he became very serious; he looked

as though he thought deeply. He ordered

you to come to him here this morning.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Is he ready

To come abroad?

Is he ready

to come out?

CROMWELL

I think, by this he is.

I think he is by this time.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Leave me awhile.

Leave me for a while.

Exit CROMWELL

Aside

It shall be to the Duchess of Alencon,

The French king's sister: he shall marry her.

Anne Bullen! No; I'll no Anne Bullens for him:

There's more in't than fair visage. Bullen!

No, we'll no Bullens. Speedily I wish

To hear from Rome. The Marchioness of Pembroke!

It shall be to the Duchess of Alencon,

the sister of the French king: he shall marry her.

Anne Bullen! No; he shan't have Anne Bullen:

there are more important things than a pretty face. Bullen!

No, will have no more Bullens. I want to hear

from Rome soon. The Marchioness of Pembroke!

NORFOLK

He's discontented.

He's unhappy.

SUFFOLK

May be, he hears the king

Does whet his anger to him.

Maybe he's heard that the King

is getting angry with him.

SURREY

Sharp enough,

Lord, for thy justice!

May he be angry enough,

Lord, to carry out your justice!

CARDINAL WOLSEY

[Aside] The late queen's gentlewoman,

a knight's daughter,

To be her mistress' mistress! the queen's queen!

This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it;

Then out it goes. What though I know her virtuous

And well deserving? yet I know her for

A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to

Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of

Our hard-ruled king. Again, there is sprung up

An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one

Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king,

And is his oracle.

The former queen's gentlewoman,

the daughter of a knight,

made the mistress of her mistress! The queen of a queen!

This is a dirty business and I'm the one who must

put a stop to it. So what if she is good

and well deserving? I still know she is

a devoted Lutheran; it would not be good

for our cause for her to have a place in the heart of

our hotheaded king. There's another one who's

sprung up, a heretic, a terrible one, Cranmer;

he has sneaked into the King's favour

and the King listens to his every word.

NORFOLK

He is vex'd at something.

He's upset about something.

SURREY

I would 'twere something that would fret the string,

The master-cord on's heart!

I hope it's something that will gnaw through

his heartstrings!

Enter KING HENRY VIII, reading of a schedule, and LOVELL

SUFFOLK

The king, the king!

The King, the King!

KING HENRY VIII

What piles of wealth hath he accumulated

To his own portion! and what expense by the hour

Seems to flow from him! How, i' the name of thrift,

Does he rake this together! Now, my lords,

Saw you the cardinal?

What enormous wealth he has gathered

for himself! How great his continual

expenditure seems to be! How, if he's thrifty,

has he managed to get such a pile! Now, my lords,

have you seen the cardinal
?

Norfolk

My lord, we have

Stood here observing him: some strange commotion

Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;

Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground,

Then lays his finger on his temple, straight

Springs out into fast gait; then stops again,

Strikes his breast hard, and anon he casts

His eye against the moon: in most strange postures

We have seen him set himself.

My Lord, we have

been standing here watching him: there's some strange disturbance

in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;

suddenly stops, looks at the ground,

then puts his finger on his forehead, immediately

starts walking quickly; then he stops again,

hits his chest hard, and then he looks

up at the moon: he has been putting himself

in the strangest positions.

King Henry VIII

It may well be,

There is a mutiny in's mind. This morning

Papers of state he sent me to peruse,

As I required: and wot you what I found

There,--on my conscience, put unwittingly?

Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing;

The several parcels of his plate, his treasure,

Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household; which

I find at such proud rate, that it out-speaks

Possession of a subject.

It might well be the case

 that his mind is confused. This morning

he sent me state documents to read over,

as I had ordered: what do you think I found

there–I swear, put there accidentally?

I tell you, an inventory, showing this;

the amounts of his plate, his treasure,

his fine things and the furnishings of his household;

I find that he has so much, it's much more

than a subject ought to own.

NORFOLK

It's heaven's will:

Some spirit put this paper in the packet,

To bless your eye withal.

It's the will of heaven:

some spirit put the document in the packet,

to do you a favour.

KING HENRY VIII

If we did think

His contemplation were above the earth,

And fix'd on spiritual object, he should still

Dwell in his musings: but I am afraid

His thinkings are below the moon, not worth

His serious considering.

If I believed

his thoughts were above the Earth

and thinking of spiritual things, I wouldn't disturb

his meditation: but I'm afraid

he is thinking of worldly things, which

he shouldn't be wasting his time on.

King HENRY VIII takes his seat; whispers LOVELL, who goes to CARDINAL WOLSEY

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Heaven forgive me!

Ever God bless your highness!

Heaven forgive me!

May God always bless your Highness!

KING HENRY VIII

Good my lord,

You are full of heavenly stuff, and bear the inventory

Of your best graces in your mind; the which

You were now running o'er: you have scarce time

To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span