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;
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. [king,
Whom should we match with Henry, being a
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. [me
Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but
[report,
K. Hen. Whether it be through force of your

she.

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
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.

[Exit.

Glo. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last. [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 her, the king, and realm.

[Exil.

Flourish of Trumpets: then Hautboys. Enter,
on one side, King Henry, Duke of Glos-
ter, Salisbury, Warwick, and Cardinal
Beaufort; on the other, Queen Margaret,
led in by Suffolk; York, Somerset, Buck-
ingham, 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, Bretaigne, and
Alençon,
[erend bishops,
Seven Earls, twelve barons, and twenty rev-
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 [substance
To your most gracious hands, that are the
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, [life,
Than this kind kiss.-O Lord, that lends me
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
grace in speech,

her

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. [Kneeling.] Long live queen Marga-
ret, 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 be. tween 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, [further. And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no 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 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 re-
gent
[months
I' the parts of France, till term of eighteen
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.

state,

[Exeunt King, Queen, and Suffolk.
Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the
[grief,
To you duke Humphrey must unload his
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 War-
wick,

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
And hath his highness in his infancy [in awe ?
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. [roast,
Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the
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 who died for all,

These counties were the keys of Normandy:— But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant

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
Before-
[in France,
Car. My lord of Gloster, now you grow too
It was the pleasure of my lord the king. [hot:
Glo. My lord of Winchester, I know your
mind;

'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis 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, unto 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,

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 common-weal.
Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-
keeping,

Have 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.

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.

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again. Enter a Messenger.

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

You do prepare to ride unto St. Albans, Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk. Glo. I go.-Come, Nell; thou wilt ride with us? [sently.

Duch. Yes, my good lord, I'll follow pre[Exeunt Gloster and Messenger.

They, knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring hu

mour,

Have hired me to undermine the duchess,
And buzz 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, 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.

SCENE III.-London. A Room in the

Palace.

Hume. Jesus preserve your royal majesty! 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,
With Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?
And will they undertake to do me good?
Hume. This they have promisèd, -to show
your highness

A spirit rais'd from depth of under ground,
That shali 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 St. Albans we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.
Here, Hume, take this reward; make merry,
man,

With thy confed rates in this weighty cause.
[Exit.
Hume. Hume must make merry with the
duchess' gold;
[Hume?
Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John
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
Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain, [Suffolk ;)

2 Pet. Marry, the lord protect him, for he's a good man! Jesu bless him!

Enter Suffolk and Queen Margaret.

I Pet. Here 'a comes, methinks, and the queen with him. I'll be the first, sure.

2 Pet. Come back, fool! this is the duke of Suffolk, and not my lord protector.

Suf. How now, fellow! wouldst anything with me?

1 Pet. I pray, my lord, pardon me; I took ye for my lord protector.

Q. Mar. [Glancing at the superscriptions.] To my lord protector!" are your supplications to his lordship? Let me see them: what is thine?

1 Pet. Mine is, an't please your grace, against John Goodman, my lord cardinal's man, for keeping my house, and lands, my wife and all, from me.

Suf. Thy wife too! that is 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!

1 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. What say'st thou? Did the duke of York say he was rightful heir to the crown? Pet. That my master was? No, forsooth: my master said that he was; and that the king

was a usurper.

Suf. Who is there? [Enter Servants.]Take this fellow in, and send for his master with a pursuivant presently:-we'll hear more of your matter before the king.

[Exeunt Servants with Peter. Q. Mar. And as for you, that love to be protected