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:

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 gra-
cious lord ;-

b

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.

[speech,

K. HEN. Her sight did ravish; but her grace in 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, 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

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. CAR. [Reads.] Item,-It is further agreed between them, that the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the

a Or at my beads,-] See note (e), p. 3, Vol. I.

b Alder-liefest-] All-dearest; dearest of all; a Saxon compound found in many of our early writers, from Chaucer to Shakespeare.

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 girt 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,
Gloster, 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.

[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,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine 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 awe?
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 dis

Hath given the duchy 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 starv'd in France,

Before

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

GLO. My lord of Winchester, I know your mind;
Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 't is my presence that doth trouble ye.
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. [Exit.
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 he displeas'd 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, [ter;
Calling him-Humphrey, the good duke of Glos-
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. [reign,
BUCK. Why should he, then, protect our sove-
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 Hum-
phrey's pride

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 displac'd, he'll be protector.
BUCK. Or thou, or I, Somerset, will be pro-
tector,*

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.

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 housekeeping,
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. [land,
WAR. So God help Warwick, as he loves the
And common profit of his country!
[cause.
YORK. And so says York, for he hath greatest
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

(*) First folio, protectors.

a

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;
Whileas 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 Ire-

land,

Bear that proportion to my flesh and blood,
As did the fatal brand Althea 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, [phrey,
And make a show of love to proud duke Hum-
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
And Humphrey with the peers be fall'n at jars:
Then will I raise aloft the milk-white rose,
With whose sweet smell the air shall be perfum'd;
And in my standard bear the arms of York,
To grapple with the house of Lancaster; [crown,
And, force perforce, I'll make him yield the
Whose bookish rule hath pull'd fair England down.
[Exit.

[queen,

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,

(*) Old text, fils.

a On a tickle point,-] Tickle was commonly used by the old writers for ticklish.

b Unto the prince's heart of Calydon.] This fable is alluded to also in the Second Part of Henry IV." Act II. Sc. 2. See note (b), p. 586, Vol. 1.

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,
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.
GLO. 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.
GLO. 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 Poole, 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 Gloster'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

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.

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

Enter a Messenger.

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

a

You do prepare to ride unto Saint Alban's, Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk. GLO. 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 Gloster bears this base and humble mind.
Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,
I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks,
And smooth my way upon their headless necks:
And, being a woman, I will not be slack
To play my part in Fortune's pageant.

Where are you there, sir John?" nay, fear not,

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; (1)
With 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.
DUCH. It is enough; I'll think upon the
questions:

When from Saint Alban's we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.

[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;

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.

e A crafty knave does need no broker;] This was proverbial. d In the quill.] Mr. Dyce and Mr. Singer would read in the coil, or quoil, that is, the stir; while Mr. Collier's annotator substitutes "in sequel." Of the two, we prefer the former, but have not sufficient confidence in either to advance it to the text.

Sur. Thy wife, too! that's some wrong, indeed. What's yours?-What's here! [Reads.] Against the duke of Suffolk, for enclosing the commons of Melford.-How now, sir knave?

2 PET. Alas, sir, I am but a poor petitioner of our whole township.

PETER. [Presenting his petition.] Against my master, Thomas Horner, for saying, that the duke of York was rightful heir to the crown.

Q. MAR. My lord of Suffolk, say, is this the
guise,

Is this the fashion* in the court of England?
Is this the government of Britain's isle,
And this the royalty of Albion's king?
What, shall king Henry be a pupil still,
Under the surly Gloster's governance?
Am I a queen in title and in style,
And must be made a subject to a duke?
I tell thee, Poole, when in the city Tours
Thou ran'st a tilt in honour of my love,
And stol'st away the ladies' hearts of France;
I thought king Henry had resembled thee

But all his mind is bent to holiness,
To number Ave-Maries on his beads:

His champions are, the prophets and apostles;
His weapons, holy saws of sacred writ;
His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canoniz'd saints.
I would the college of the cardinals
Would choose him pope, and carry him to Rome,
And set the triple crown upon his head ;-
That were a state fit for his holiness.

SUF. Madam, be patient: as I was cause
Your highness came to England,. so will I
In England work your grace's full content.
Q. MAR. Beside the haught + protector, have
we Beaufort,