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, lerds of England, it is thus agreed,
That peaceful truce shall be proclaimed 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 poison'd voice,

By sight of these our baleful enemies.

19

Win. Charles, and the rest, it is enacted thus:
That, in regard king Henry gives consent,
Of mere compassion 20 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 swear
To pay him tribute, and submit thyself,
Thou shalt be plac'd 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,

21

And yet, in substance and authority,
Retain but privilege of a private man?
This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

Char. T is known, already that I am possess'd
With more than half the Gallian territories,
And therein reverenc'd 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. 22

19) Für poison'd lesen manche Hgg. mit Pope prison'd; indess wird die alte Lesart unterstützt durch das folgende baleful

giftig, verderblich.

wirkt wie ein Gift auf York und benimmt ihm die Sprache.

20) aus reinem Mitgefühl und aus keinem andern Motiv.

Der Anblick der Feinde

21) coronet hält Johnson hier für identisch mit crown; indess scheint Sh. den zwischen beiden Wörtern obwaltenden Unterschied auch hier beobachtet zu haben, da dem Dan

phin als Vicekönig von Frankreich nur eine kleine Krone, nicht die eigentliche Königskrone zukam.

22) possibility of all die Möglichkeit, Alles zu besitzen.

York. Insulting Charles! hast thou by secret means

Used intercession to obtain a league,

And, now the matter grows to compromise,

Stand'st thou aloof upon comparison? 23
Either accept the title thou usurp'st,
Of benefit 24 proceeding from our king,
And not of any challenge of desert,

Or we will plague thee with incessant wars.

Reig. My lord, you do not well in obstinacy

To cavil 25 in the course of this contract:

If once it be neglected, ten to one,
We shall not find like opportunity.

Alen. To say the truth, it is your policy
To save your subjects from such massacre,
And ruthless slaughters, as are daily seen
By our proceeding in hostility;

And therefore take this compact of a truce,

Although you break it when your pleasure serves.

[Aside to CHARLES.

War. How say'st thou, Charles? shall our condition stand?
Char. It shall; only reserv'd, you claim no interest

In any of our towns of garrison.

York. Then swear allegiance to his majesty;

As thou art knight, never to disobey,

London. A Room in the Palace.

Enter King HENRY, in conference with SUFFOLK; GLOSTER and
EXETER following.

K. Hen. Your wondrous rare description, noble earl,

Of beauteous Margaret hath astonish'd me:

23) und nun hältst Du Dich fern, auf Grund von Abmessungen und Vergleichungen, die Du anstellst zwischen dem was Du hast und dem was Du haben sollst.

24) of benefit ist mit accept zu verbinden: empfange den von Dir usurpirten Rang und Besitz als ein Beneficium, das von unserm König ausgeht, und nicht als einen Anspruch eigenen Verdienstes.

25) to cavil chicaniren.

26) Diesen Bühnenweisung fidet sich nicht in der Fol.

1

Her virtues, graced with external gifts,
Do breed love's settled passions in my heart; 2
And like as rigour of tempestuous gusts 3
Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide,
So am I driven, by breath of her renown,
Either to suffer shipwrack, or arrive
Where I may have fruition of her love.

Suf. Tush! my good lord, this superficial tale
Is but a preface of her worthy praise:
The chief perfections 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.

4

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?

Suf. As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths:
Or one that, at a triumph 5 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.

1) Vgl. A. 5, Sc. 3, Anm. 42.

2) in my heart ist mit settled zu verbinden.

3) rigour of tempestuous gusts ist der energische Drang stürmischer Windstōsse. Mit diesem wird breath of her renown' der Hauch oder Laut von ihrem Ruhm, verglichen. *) die Tochter des Grafen von Armagnac, mit der Heinrich sich verlobt hatte. Vgl. A. 5, Sc. 1.

5) triumph

ritterliche Lustbarkeit im Allgemeinen, hier speziell

= Turnier.

6) weil sein Gegner zu ungleich ist an Würde oder Körperstärke, um es mit ihm aufzunehmen, zu tief unter ihm steht.

Suf. 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 a liberal dower, Where Reigner sooner will receive than give.

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.

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: 8

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, 9

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 forth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.

10

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 11 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, 12

7) my good lord in der zweiten Fol., my lord in der ersten.

8) attorneyship Vermittlung eines Sachwalters: eine Heirath lässt sich nicht wie ein Handelsgeschäft durch Unterhändler abschliessen.

9) It most setzte Rowe an Stelle von Most der Fol.

10) Mit forth vervollständigt die zweite Fol. den unvollständigen Vers der ersten. Malone wollte dafür contrary viersylbig (conterary) lesen.

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 13
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, 14

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
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. 16

Glo.

15

Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.

[Exit.

[Exeunt GLOSTER and EXETER.

Suf. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd; and thus he goes,

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 17 her, the king, and realm.

13) for that weil.

[Exit.

14) Hoffnung und Furcht kämpfen so grimmig um den Sieg in Heinrich's Brust, dass das Ringen dieser widerstreitenden Gedanken ihn krank macht.

15) Wenn Ihr mich nach dem beurtheilt, wie Ihr in Eurer empfänglicheren Jugend waret, nicht wie Ihr jetzt seid.

16) grief fasst Heinrich Liebesleid, Gloster allgemein

Noth, Leid.

17) Auch an andern Stellen gebraucht Sh. both von einer Dreitheilung, wie hier.