Plays and Poems

Suf. A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your king,

That he should be so abject, base, and poor,
To choose for wealth and not for perfect love. 50
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 bliss,
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

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 assur'd,
I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,
Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,
As I am sick with working of my thoughts.
Take, therefore, shipping; post, my lord, to
France;

Agree to any covenants, and procure

That Lady Margaret do vouchsafe to come

To cross the seas to England and be crown'd 95
King Henry's faithful and anointed queen.
For your expenses and sufficient charge,
Among the people gather up a tenth.
Be gone, I say; for till you do return
I rest perplexed with a thousand cares.
And you, good uncle, banish all offence:
If you do censure me by what you were,
Not what you are, I know it will excuse
This sudden execution of my will.
And so conduct me, where from company
I may revolve and ruminate my grief.
Glou. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.
Exeunt GLOUCESTER and EXETER.
Suf. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd; and thus
he goes,

103 Exit.

As did the youthful Paris once to Greece;
With hope to find the like event in love,
But prosper better than the Trojan did.
Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the
king;

But I will rule both her, the king, and realm.

Exit.

Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Herald; Petitioners, Aldermen, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers; Citizens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers, Messengers, etc.

ACT I.

A Spirit.

SCENE.--In various Parts of England.

SCENE I-London. A Room of State in the
Palace.

Flourish of trumpets: then hautboys. Enter, on
one side, King HENRY, Duke of GLOUCESTER,
SALISBURY, WARWICK, and Cardinal BEAU-
FORT; on the other, Queen MARGARET, led in
by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMERSET, BUCKING-I
HAM, and Others, following.

Suf. 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, Bretagne, and
Alençon,

Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend
bishops,

I have perform'd my task, and was espous'd:
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 marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.
K. Hen. Suffolk, arise. Welcome, Queen
Margaret:

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 alderliefest 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 | Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
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.

Glou. Imprimis, It is agreed between the French King Charles and William de la Pole, Marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry King of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the Lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier King of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem, and crown her Queen of England 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-51 Lets the paper fall.

K. Hen. Uncle, how now! Glou. 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. Car. Item, It is further agreed between them, that the duckies 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 any dowry.

K. Hen. They please us well. Lord marquess,
kneel down:

We here create thee the first Duke of Suffolk,
And gird thee with the sword. Cousin of York,
We here discharge your grace from being regent
I' the parts of France, till term of eighteen
months

Be full expir'd. Thanks, uncle Winchester,
Gloucester, York, Buckingham, 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.

Early and late, debating to and fro

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.

100

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate
discourse,

This peroration with such circumstance?
For France, 'tis ours; and we will keep it still.
Glou. 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 duchy of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor King Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.

110

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 !

120

York. For Suffolk's duke, may he be suffocate,
That dims the honour of this war-like 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,

Glou. 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 starv'd
in France,

Before

132

Car. My Lord of Gloucester, now ye grow too hot:

141

It was the pleasure of my lord the king.
Glou. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind:
'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis my presence that doth trouble yc.
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 I am gone,
I prophesied France will be lost ere long. Brit.
Cur. 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 displeas'd at it.
Look to it, lords; let not his smoothing words

150

How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe? Bewitch your hearts; be wise and circumspect. And hath his highness in his infancy

What though the common people favour him,

Calling him Humphrey, the good Duke of
Gloucester,'

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, 161
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 pride 170

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 Gloucester be displac'd, he 'll be protector.
Buck. Or thou or I, Somerset, will be protector,
Despite Duke Humphrey or the cardinal.

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.

180

I never saw but Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
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: 191
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.

202

War. So God help Warwick, as he loves the land,

And common profit of his country!

York. Aside. And so says York, for he hath greatest cause.

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,

210

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 pleas'd
To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair
daughter.

I cannot blame them all what is 't to them?
'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their
pillage,

And purchase friends, and give to courtezans,
Still revelling like lords till all be gone;
While as the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless hands,
And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloof,
While all is shar'd and all is borne away,
Ready to starve and dare not touch his own:
So York must sit and fret and bite his tongue
While his own lands are bargain'd for and sold.
Methinks the realms of England, France, and
Ireland

220

Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood,
As did the fatal brand Althæa burn'd,
Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.
Anjou and Maine both given unto the French!
Cold news for me, for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.
A day will come when York shall claim his own;
And therefore I will take the Nevils' parts
And make a show of love to proud Duke
Humphrey,

And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown, *
For that's the golden mark I seek to hit.
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown.
Then, York, be still awhile, till time do serve:
Watch thou and wake when others be asleep,
To pry into the secrets of the state;
Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,
With his new bride and England's dear-bought

SCENE II.-The Same. A Room in the Duke of GLOUCESTER'S House.

Enter GLOUCESTER and the DUCHESS. Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd corn,

Hanging the head at Ceres' plenteous load? Why doth the great Duke Humphrey knit his brows,

As frowning at the favours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What seest thou there? King Henry's diadem
Enchas'd with all the honours of the world!
If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
Until thy head be circled with the same.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious gold.
What! is't too short? I'll lengthen it with mine;
And, having both together heav'd it up,

SCENE 11.]

We'll both together lift our heads to heaven,
And never more abase our sight so low
As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.
Glou. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love thy
lord,

Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts:
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew, virtuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world.
My troublous dream this night doth make me

sad.

Duch. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and
I'll requite it

With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream.
Glou. Methought this staff, mine office-badge
in court,

Was broke in twain; by whom I have forgot,
But, as I think, it was by the cardinal;
And on the pieces of the broken wand
Were plac'd the heads of Edmund Duke of
Somerset,

And William de la Pole, first Duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream: what it doth bode, God
knows.

Duch. Tut! this was nothing but an argument, That he that breaks a stick of Gloucester's grove

Shall lose his head for his presumption.

But list to me, my Humphrey, my sweet duke:
Methought I sat in seat of majesty

In the cathedral church of Westminster,

And in that chair where kings and queens are
crown'd;

Where Henry and Dame Margaret kneel'd to me,
And on my head did set the diadem.

Glou. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright:
Presumptuous dame! ill-nurtur'd Eleanor!
Art thou not second woman in the realm,
And the protector's wife, belov'd of him?
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command,
Above the reach or compass of thy thought?
And wilt thou still be hammering treachery,
To tumble down thy husband and thyself
From top of honour to disgrace's feet?
Away from me, and let me hear no more!
Duch. What, what, my lord! are you so choleric
With Eleanor for telling but her dream?
Next time I'll keep my dreams unto myself,
And not be check'd.

Glou. Nay, be not angry; I am pleas'd again.

Enter Messenger.

Mess. My lord protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure

Enter HUME.

Hume. Jesus preserve your royal majesty! 70
Duch. What say'st thou? majesty! I am but
grace.

Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's
advice,

Your grace's title shall be multiplied.

Duch. What say'st thou, man? hast thou as

yet conferr'd

With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch,
And Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?
And will they undertake to do me good?

Hume. This they have promised, to show your
highness

A spirit rais'd from depth of under-ground,
That shall make answer to such questions
As by your grace shall be propounded him.
upon
Duch. It is enough: I'll think

tions.

the ques

When from Saint Alban's we do make return
We'll see these things effected to the full.
Here, Hume, take this reward; make merry, man,
With thy confederates in this weighty cause.

Exit.

Hume. Hume must make merry with the
duchess' gold;

Marry and shall. But how now, Sir John Hume!
Seal up your lips and give no words but mum:
The business asketh silent secrecy.

Dame Eleanor gives gold to bring the witch:
Gold cannot come amiss, were she a devil.
Yet have I gold flies from another coast:
I dare not say from the rich cardinal
And from the great and new-made Duke of
Suffolk;

101

Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,
They, knowing Dame Eleanor's aspiring humour,
Have hired me to undermine the duchess
And buz these conjurations in her brain.
They say 'A crafty knave does need no broker;'
Yet am I Suffolk and the cardinal's broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves.
Well, so it stands; and thus, I fear at last
Hume's knavery will be the duchess' wreck,
And her attainture will be Humphrey's fall.
Sort how it will I shall have gold for all.

Exit.

A Room in the Palace.

SCENE III.-The Same.
Enter three or four Petitioners, PETER, the
Armourer's man, being one.

First Petit. My masters, let's stand close: my
lord protector will come this way by and by, and
then we may deliver our supplications in the quill.
Second Petit. Marry, the Lord protect him, for
Jesu bless him!
he's a good man.

You do prepare to ride unto Saint Alban's,
Where as the king and queen do mean to hawk.
Glow. I go. Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us?
Duch. Yes, my good lord, I'll follow presently.
Exeunt GLOUCESTER and Messenger.
Follow I must; I cannot go before,
While Gloucester bears this base and humble with him. I'll be the first, sure.

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