For though her father be the king of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet is he poor,
And our nobility will scorn the match.

Mar. Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure?
Suff. [Aside] It shall be so, disdain they ne'er so
Henry is youthful, and will quickly yield.— [much:
Madam, I have a secret to reveal.

Mar. [Aside] What though I be enthrall'd? he
And will not any way dishonour me. [seems a knight,
Suff. Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.
Mar. [Aside.] Perhaps I shall be rescued by the
And then I need not crave his courtesy. [French;

Suf. Sweet Madam, give me hearing in a cause-
Mar. [Aside. Tush! women have been captivate ere
Suff. Lady, wherefore talk you so?
[now.

Yar. I cry you mercy, 'tis but quid for quo.
Suff. Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose
Your bondage happy, to be made a queen?

Mar. To be a queen in bondage is more vile Than is a slave in base servility;

For princes should be free.

Suff. And so shall you,

If happy England's royal king be free.

Mar. Why, what concerns his freedom unto me!

Suff. I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen'

To put a golden sceptre in thy hand,

And set a precious crown upon thy head,

If thou wilt condescend to be my-
Mar. What?

Suff. His love.

Mar. I am unworthy to be Henry's wife.
Suff. No, gentle Madam; I unworthy am

To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,

And have no portion in the choice myself.
How say you, Madam; are you so content?
Mar. An if my father please, I am content.
Suff. Then call our captains and our colours forth:
And, Madam, at your father's castle walls
We'll crave a parley, to confer with him.

[Troops come forward.

A parley sounded. Enter REIGNIER, on the wolls.

Suff. See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.
Reig. To whom?

Suff. To me.

Reig. Suffolk, what remedy?

I am a soldier, and unapt to weep,

Or to exclaim on fortune's fickleness.

Suff. Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord:
Consent (and for thy honour give consent)
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king;
Whom I with pain have woo'd and won thereto,
And this her easy-held imprisonment
Hath gain'd thy daughter princely liberty.
Reig. Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?
Suff. Fair Margaret knows

That Suffolk doth not flatter, face, or feign.
Reig. Upon thy princely warrant I descend
To give thee answer of thy just demand.

[Exit from the walls. Suff. And here I will expect thy coming.

Trumpets sounded. Enter REIGNIER, below. Reig. Welcome, brave earl, into our territories; Command in Anjou what your honour pleases. Suff. Thanks, Reignier, happy for so sweet a child, Pit to be made companion with a king: What answer makes your grace unto my suit?

Reig. Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth To be the princely bride of such a lord,

Upon condition I may quietly

Enjoy mine own, the county Maine, and Anjou,
Free from oppression or the stroke of war,
My daughter shall be Henry's, if he please.

Suff. That is her ransom,-I deliver her;
And those two counties, I will undertake,
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.

Reig. And I again, in Henry's royal name
As deputy unto that gracious king,

Give thee her hand, for sign of plighted faith.
Suff. Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks
Because this is in traffic of a king:

[Aside] And yet, methinks, I could be well content
To be mine own attorney in this case.-

[TO REIG.] I'll over, then, to England with this news, And make this marriage to be solemnised; So farewell, Reignier! Set this diamond safe

In golden palaces, as it becomes.

Reig. I do embrace thee, as I would embrace The Christian prince, king Henry, were he here. Mar. Farewell, my lord! Good wishes, praise, and prayers,

Suff. Words sweetly placed and modestly directed. But, Madam, I must trouble you again,No loving token to his majesty?

Mar. Yes, my good lord; a pure unspotted heart, Never yet taint with love, I send the king.

Suff. And this withal.

[Kisses her. Mar. That for thyself;-I will not so presume To send such peevish tokens to a king.

[Exeunt REIGNIER and MARGARET. Suff. O, wert thou for myself!-But, Suffolk, stay; Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth; There Minotaurs and ugly treasons lurk. Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise: Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount Mad natural graces that extinguish art; Repeat their semblance often on the seas, That, when thou com'st to kneel at Henry's feet,

Thou mayst bereave him of his wits with wonder. [Exit.

SCENE IV.-Camp of the DUKE OF YORK, in ANJOU.

Enter YORK WARWICK, and others.

York. Bring forth that sorceress, condemn'd to burn. Enter LA PUCELLE, guarded, and a Shepherd. Shep. Ah, Joan! this kills thy father's heart outright! Have I sought every country far and near,

And, now it is my chance to find thee out,

Must I behold thy timeless cruel death?

Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I'll die with thee!

Puc. Decrepit miser! base ignoble wretch !

I am descended of a gentler blood;

Thou art no father, nor no friend, of mine.

Shep. Out, out!-My lords, an please you, 'tis net so; I did beget her, all the parish knows :

Her mother liveth yet, can testify

She was the first-fruit of my bachelorship.

War. Graceless! wilt thou deny thy parentage?

York. This argues what her kind of life hath been,

Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes.

Shep. Fie, Joan! that thou wilt be so obstacle !

God knows thou art a collop of my flesh;

And for thy sake have I shed many a tear:
Deny me not, I pr'ythee, gentle Joan.

Puc. Peasant, avaunt!-You have suborn'd this man,

Of purpose to obscure my noble birth.

Shep. 'Tis true, I gave a noble to the priest

The morn that I was wedded to her mother.-
Kneel down and take my blessing, good my girl.

Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursed be the time

Of thy nativity! I would the milk

Thy mother gave thee, when thou suck'dst her breast, Had been a little ratsbane for thy sake!

Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs a-field,

York. Take her away, for she hath lived too long,

To fill the world with vicious qualities.

Puc. First, let me tell you whom you have condemn'd. Not me begotten of a shepherd swain, But issued from the progeny of kings; Virtuous and holy; chosen from above, By inspiration of celestial grace, To work exceeding miracles on earth. I never had to do with wicked spirits: But you, that are polluted with your lusts, Stain'd with the guiltless blood of innocents, Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices, Because you want the grace that others have, You judge it straight a thing impossible To compass wonders, but by help of devils. No, misconceived Joan of Arc hath been A virgin from her tender infancy, Chaste and immaculate in very thought; Whose maiden blood, thus rigorously effused, Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven. York. Ay, ay-away with her to execution! War. And hark ye, Sirs; because she is a maid, Spare for no faggots, let there be enough: Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake, That so her torture may be shortened.

Puc. Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?—

Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity,

That warranteth by law to be thy privilege.

I am with child, ye bloody homicides:

Murder not, then, the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale me to a violent death.

York. Now, heaven forfend! the holy maid with child
War. The greatest miracle that e'er ye wrought:
Is all your strict preciseness come to this?

York. She and the Dauphin have been juggling I did imagine what would be her refuge.

War. Well, go to; we will have no bastards live; Especially since Charles must father it.

Puc You are deceived; my child is none of his It was Alençon that enjoy'd my love.

York. Alençon, that notorious Machiavel! It dies, an if it had a thousand lives.

Puc. O, give me leave, I have deluded you; 'Twas neither Charles nor yet the duke I named, But Reignier, king of Naples, that prevail'd.

War. A married man! that's most intolerable. York. Why, here's a girl! I think she knows not well, There were so many, whom she may accuse.

War. It's sign she hath been liberal and free. York. And yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure.Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and thee: Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.

[curse:

Puc. Then lead me hence;-with whom I leave my
May never glorious sun reflex his beams
Upon the country where you make abode!
But darkness and the gloomy shade of death
Environ you, till mischief and despair
Drive you to break your necks, or hang yourselves!
[Exit, guarded.
York. Break thou in pieces, and consume to ashes,
Thou foul accursed minister of hell!

Enter CARDINAL BEAUFORT, attended.
Car. Lord regent, I do greet your excellence
With letters of commission from the king.
For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,
Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils,
Have earnestly implored a general peace
Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French;
And here at hand the Dauphin and his train
Approacheth, to confer about some matter.

York. Is all our travail turn'd to this effect?
After the slaughter of so many peers,
So many captains, gentlemen, and soldiers,
That in this quarrel have been overthrown,
And sold their bodies for their country's benefit,
Shall we at last conclude effeminate peace?
Have we not lost most part of all the towns,
By treason, falsehood, and by treachery,
Our great progenitors had conquered?—
O, Warwick, Warwick! I foresee with grief
The utter loss of all the realm of France.

War. Be patient, York: if we conclude a peace,
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants,
As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.
Enter CHARLES, attended; ALENÇON, Bastard, REIGNIER
and others.

Char. Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed, That peaceful truce shall be proclaim'd in France, We come to be informed by yourselves

What the conditions of that league must be.

York. Speak, Winchester; for boiling choler chokes The hollow passage of my prison'd voice,

By sight of these our baleful enemies.

Win. Charles, and the rest, it is enacted thus:That-in regard king Henry gives consent,

Of mere compassion and of lenity,

To ease your country of distressful war,
And suffer you to breathe in fruitful peace-
You shall become true liegemen to his crown:
And, Charles, upon condition thou wilt wear
To pay him tribute, and submit thyself,
Thou shalt be placed as viceroy under him,
And still enjoy thy regal dignity.

Alen. Must he be, then, as shadow of himself?
Adorn his temples with a coronet,
And yet, in substance and authority,
Retain but privilege of a private man?
This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

Char. 'Tis known already that I am possess'd
With more than half the Gallian territories,
And therein reverenced for their lawful king:
Shall I, for lucre of the rest unvanquish'd,
Detract so much from that prerogative,
As to be call'd but viceroy of the whole?
No, lord ambassador; I'll rather keep

That which I have, than, coveting for more,

Be cast from possibility of all.

York. Insulting Charles! hast thou by secret mesas Used intercession to obtain a league;

SCENE V.-LONDON. A Room in the Palace. Enter KING HENRY, in conference with SurrOLK; GLOSTER and EXETER following.

K. Hen. Your wondrous rare description, noble earl,
Of beauteous Margaret hath astonish'd me:
Her virtues, graced with external gifts,
Do breed love's settled passions in my heart:
And like as rigour in tempestuous gusts
Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide,
So am I driven, by breath of her renown,
Either to suffer shipwreck, or arrive
Where I may have fruition of her love.
Suff. Tush! my good lord! this superficial tale
Is but a preface of her worthy praise:
The chief perfecaons of that lovely dame
(Had I sufficient skill to utter them)
Would make a volume of enticing lines,
Able to ravish any dull conceit.
And, which is more, she is not so divine,
So full replete with choice of all delights,
But, with as humble lowliness of mind,
She is content to be at your command;
Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents,
To love and honour Henry as her lord.

K. Hen. And otherwise will Henry ne'er presume.
Therefore, my lord protector, give consent,
That Margaret may be England's royal queen.

Glo. So should I give consent to flatter sin.
You know, my lord, your highness is betroth'd
Unto another lady of esteem;

How shall we, then, dispense with that contract,
And not deface your honour with reproach?

Suff. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths;
Or one that, at a triumph having vow'd
To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists
By reason of his adversary's odds:

A poor earl's daughter is unequal odds,

And therefore may be broke without offence.

Glo. Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than that? Her father is no better than an earl,

Although in glorious titles he excel.

Suff. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king,
The king of Naples and Jerusalem;
And of such great authority in France,
As his alliance will confirm our peace,
And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.
Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do,
Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.
Exe. Beside, his wealth doth warrant liberal
While Reignier sooner will receive than give.
Suff. A dower, my lords! disgrace not so you
That he should be so abject, base, and poor,
To choose for wealth, and not for perfect love.
Henry is able to enrich his queen,

And not to seek a queen to make him rich:
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.
Marriage is a matter of more worth,
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship;

Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed:

And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
It most of all these reasons bindeth us,

In our opinions she should be preferr'd.
For what is wedlock forced, but a hell,
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth oliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.

Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth,
Approves her fit for none but for a king:
Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit.
(More than in women commonly is seen)
Will answer our hope in issue of a king;
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors,
If with a lady of so high resolve

As is fair Margaret he be link'd in love.

Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me

That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she.

K. Hen. Whether it be through force of your report,

My noble lord of Suffolk, or for that

My tender youth was never yet attaint

With any passion of inflaming love,

I cannot tell; but this I am assured,

I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,

[Exit.

[Exit.

AOT I.

SCENE L.-LONDON. A Room of State in the Palace. Flourish of Trumpets: then Hautboys. Enter, on one side, KING HENRY, DUKE OF GLOSTER, SALISBURY, WARWICK, and CARDINAL BEAUFORT; on the other, QUEEN MARGARET, led in by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMER SET, BUCKINGHAM, and others, following. Suff. As by your high imperial majesty I had in charge at my depart for France,

As procurator to your excellence,

To marry princess Margaret for your grace;
So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,
In presence of the kings of France and Sicil,

The dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretaigne, and Alençon,
Seven earls, twelve barons, twenty reverend bishops,
I have perform'd my task, and was espoused:
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of England and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the queen

To your most gracious hands, that are the substance

Of that great shadow I did represent;

The happiest gift that ever marquis gave,
The fairest queen that ever king received.

K. Hen. Suffolk, arise.-Welcome, queen Margaret: I can express no kinder sign of love Than this kind kiss.-O Lord, that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness! For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face, A world of earthly blessings to my soul,

If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

Q. Mar. Great king of England, and my gracious lord, The mutual conference that my mind hath had, By day, by night; waking, and in my dreams;

In courtly company, or at my beads,

With you, mine alder-liefest sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms; such as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish; but her grace in speech,
Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty,
Makes me, from wondering, fall to weeping joys;
Such is the fulness of my heart's content.
Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love.
All. Long live queen Margaret, England's happiness!
Q. Mar. We thank you all.
[Flourish

Suf. My lord protector, so it please your grace, Here are the articles of contracted peace, Between our sovereign and the French king Charles,

For eighteen months concluded by consent.

Glo. [Reads. "Imprimis, It is agreed between the French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquis of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king of Eng Land, that the said Henry shall espouse the lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her queen of Eng land ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing.-Item, That the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine shall be released and delivered to the king her father"— K. Hen. Uncle, how now?

Glo. Pardon me, gracious lord;

Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart, And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further. K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on. Win. [Reads.] "Item, It is further agreed between them, that the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the king her father; and she sent over of the king of England's own proper cost and charges, without having dowry."

[down;

K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquis, kneel
We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword.—

Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace
From being regent in the parts of France,
Till term of eighteen months be full expired.-
Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York, and Bucking-
Somerset, Salisbury, and Warwick;

We thank you all for this great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.
Come, let us in; and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be perform'd.

[ham,

[Exeunt KING, QUEEN, and SUFFOLK
Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,
To you duke Humphrey must unload his grief,—
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
What! did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin, and people in the wars?
Did he so often lodge in open field,

In winter's cold, and summer's parching heat,
To conquer France, his true inheritance?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham,
Brave York, Salisbury, and victorious Warwick,
Received deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath my uncle Beaufort and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the council-house
Early and late, debating to and fro

How France and Frenchmen might be kept in wo!
And hath his highness in his infancy
Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
And shall these labours and these honours die?
Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our counsel die?
O peers of England, shameful is this league!
Fatal this marriage, cancelling your fame:
Blotting your names from books of memory:
Razing the characters of your renown;
Defacing monuments of conquer'd France;
Undoing all, as all had never been!

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse?

This peroration with such circumstance?

For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it still.

Glo. Ay, uncle, we will keep it if we can;

But now it is impossible we should.

Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the roast,
Hath given the duchies of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.

Sal. Now, by the death of Him that died for all,
These counties were the keys of Normandy:-
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son?

War. For grief that they are past recovery:
For, were there hope to conquer them again,
My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no tears.
Anjou and Maine! myself did win them both;
Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer
And are the cities that I got with wounds
Deliver'd up again with peaceful words?
Mort Dieu!

York. For Suffolk's duke, may he be suffocate,
That dims the honour of this warlike isle!
France should have torn and rent my very heart,
Before I would have yielded to this league.
I never read but England's kings have had
Large sums of gold and dowries with their wives;
And our king Henry gives away his own,
To match with her that brings no vantages.
Glo. A proper jest, and never heard before,

That Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth,
For costs and charges in transporting her!
She should have stay'd in France, and starved in France
Before-

Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too hot;
It was the pleasure of my lord the king.

[Exit.

Glo. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind;
'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis my presence that doth trouble you.
Rancour will out: proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury: if I longer stay,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings.-
Lordings, farewell; and say, when 1 am gone,
I prophesied France will be lost ere long.
Car. So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you he is mine enemy;
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all;
And no great friend, I fear me, to the king.
Consider, lords, he is the next of blood,
And heir-apparent to the English crown;
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeased at it.
Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wise and circumspect.
What though the common people favour him,
Calling him "Humphrey, the good duke of Gloster;"
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice-
"Jesu maintain your royal excellence!"

With "God preserve the good duke Humphrey!"
I fear me, lords, for all this flattering gloss,
He will be found a dangerous protector.

Buck. Why should he then protect our sovereign,
He being of age to govern of himself?-
Cousin of Somerset, join you with me,
And all together, with the duke of Suffolk,
We'll quickly hoise duke Humphrey from his seat.

Car. This weighty business will not brook delay; I'll to the duke of Suffolk presently.

[Exit

Som. Cousin of Buckingham, though Humphrey's And greatness of his place be grief to us, Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal; His insolence is more intolerable Than all the princes in the land beside; If Gloster be displaced, he'll be protector. Buck. Or thou, or I, Somerset, will be protector, Despite duke Humphrey or the cardinal.

(pride

[Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and SOMERSET. Sal. Pride went before, ambition follows him. While these do labour for their own preferment, Behoves it us to labour for the realm.

I never saw but Humphrey duke of Gloster
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal-
More like a soldier than a man o' the church,
As stout and proud as he were lord of all-
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a commonweal.-
Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keeping,
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,

In bringing them to civil discipline;

Thy late exploits, done in the heart of France,
When thou wert regent for our sovereign,
Have made thee fear'd and honour'd of the people:-
Join we together for the public good;
In what we can to bridle and suppress
The pride of Suffolk and the cardinal,
With Somerset's and Buckingham's ambition;
And, as we may, cherish duke Humphrey's deeds,
While they do tend the profit of the land.

War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land And common profit of his country!

York. And so says York, for he hath greatest canse Sal. Then let's make haste away, and look unto the

main.

War. Unto the main! O father, Maine is lost; That Maine, which by main force Warwick did win, And would have kept so long as breath did last: Main chance, father, you meant; but I meant Maine; Which I will win from France, or else be slain.

[Exeunt WARWICK and SALISBURY
York. Anjou and Maine are given to the French;
Paris is lost; the state of Normandy
Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone:
Suffolk concluded on the articles;

The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleased
To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair daughter.
I cannot blame them all; what is 't to them?